It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good… league.
But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything.
Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months.
Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary” tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off.
But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers.
Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale…
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I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to read a romantic comedy where the heroine wasn’t a perfect 10 in the looks department. I liked the premise of the book and the interactions the characters had with each other. I also enjoyed the bits that included Ford’s family. They are a big, loud, messy family and I found it endearing. This was my first time reading Avery Flynn and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series.
I read this series a little out of order but it didn’t take away from the story and I still loved it.
This story broke my heart in so many places but yet reminded me that there are good people in the world. Gina is a woman who has so many wonderful characteristics but yet most people don’t look below the surface to see them. I can’t image how hard high school must have been.
I loved that Ford was able to see this and also to defend her against some of the harsh words that were thrown behind her back. This straight laced cop was willing to throw some punches to defend his woman’s honor.
I liked this humor in this book and I especially liked when Gina went to meet Fords family. They are a lot to take in but they accepted her right away and made her feel welcome.
Avery Flynn takes the maxim of ‘opposites attract’ and turns it into a dynamic story. Who could ever see success with an ugly duckling mobster’s kin and a law enforcement rank person finding the recipe for success … or matching in two totally different families … or even maintaining a fun-filled atmosphere with occupational conflicts in one of the groupings. I couldn’t put this book down because it seemed there was always something new happening, something that just had to be read. I couldn’t put it down … really. My all around best read in the past six months. Thank you Avery
Butterface is a fantastic romantic comedy by Avery Flynn. Ms. Flynn has delivered a well-written book and populated it with lovable characters. Gina and Ford are forced to share a kiss for the Kiss Cam at a wedding reception. The fact that Gina is a Luca and her family has been connected to the Esposito crime family and Ford is a detective on the organized crime task force opens the door to trouble. Gina and Luca’s story is full of drama, sizzle and laugh out loud hilarity. I enjoyed every page of Butterface and look forward to reading more from Avery Flynn in the future. Butterface is book 1 of The Hartigans Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
A really fun read! Engaging characters and a different spin on the “beautiful” heroine. Funny and sexy!
Enjoyed this fast-paced, funny read by Avery Flynn! Love cheering on her characters as they find their Happily Ever After.
Love the moral of the story! It’s not what’s on the outside but the beauty on the inside that counts! Gina is loving, hard working, witty and has amazing friends. Ford is a stickler for the rules and a genuine sweetheart.
The only thing that pops in my head when I think about writing a review for this books is …
I didn’t not like the book .
Analyse that as you wish 🙂
I read through this book like it was a chapter in my own life. Butterface took me right back to how I felt in high school. I was the girl who was too skinny and had a large nose. I was teased unmercifully for both. I can remember training for the cross-country track team and we had to run laps around the inside of the high school at the same time the football team was also in there training. As I rounded one of the corners, a group of football players came up beside me and told me to go back to Ethiopia where I belonged. I’ve been out of school for over 20 years and it still makes me sad sometimes. It doesn’t help that occasionally throughout by my 20s and 30s, someone felt the need to remind me about my size (jealous much) or my nose. I was crying by the 12% mark. The sheer number of times the emotional content of this book hit too close to home is staggering.
I connected with Gina on a level that I’ve never connected with a character before. I may not come from a mob family but she and I are kindred spirits. I think we would get along really well in real life. And for those of you who’ve read the book and don’t understand why a 31-year old book character still gets teased and is hung up on her looks – You’ve obviously never had to deal with something so soul-crushing that you spend your whole life working through the garbage people keep throwing at you. This book perfectly explains how a 31-one year old still gets teased about her looks and how she is still completely hung up on the other people’s opinions and assessments of her.
I loved the characters and how they developed. The relationship between Gina and Ford is beautiful and genuine. I can totally understand how the complications in Gina’s life affect her ability to believe Ford is sincere. Plus, her brothers’ involvement in activities that are less than legal causes Gina to worry for them and how Ford will react if/when he finds out. Her brothers, regardless of what they are both into, love Gina and the author does a great job portraying that to the reader.
The author also includes multiple threads in this story besides just the slow-growing romance between Gina and Ford. Gina is also the granddaughter of Big Nose Tommy Luca, who disappears many years prior. Information is discovered pertaining to the mysterious disappearance adding another layer of emotion into the mix.
What a beautiful, sweet, and uplifting love story. I really loved this book and look forward to the next one in this series. I recommend this book, this author and this series.
I don’t think I’ve read any of this author’s works before, so reading this was a rather pleasant surprise! I laughed quite a bit at some of the antics that the Gina and Ford got up to! I loved how much I could identify with Gina, all her insecurities and self-esteem issues, and I loved how Ford never considered her looks when he was with her. I could tell that he was totally gone for her, and it was a reminder of the way my own husband looks at me. That was a great feeling to have, to identify so much with a set of characters in a story!
The one thing I didn’t really like was the lack of details/resolution when it came to Gina’s family’s “Mob connections”. There was such a big deal made about it within the precinct, and yet we don’t really know what’s up with Gina’s brothers, nor do we know how the police view their “disappearance”. It’s something I definitely want to know about, so will read the rest of the series to discover if more is revealed about them!
This was a great introduction to the author, and I’m looking forward to reading the series that this spun out of as well as the subsequent books in the series!
This was a cute story. It held my attention throughout and really didn’t take me long to get through. I honestly cringed in several parts at the thought of experiencing what this poor heroine has had to endure in her lifetime as an “ugly duckling.” I would have liked to see a little more personality or some concrete reason the handsome cop Hero fell so hard for her, but as it was, I found it fairly believable.
The strong, independent woman that Gina was resonated with me really well. She was born into the Luca family, known for its ties in organized crime, and her brothers, Paul and Rocko, I thought had a believable connection with her. While they themselves were in the family bizz, they did well to keep her out of it and look out for her. Maybe Gina had gotten most of the brains in that family, but I thought it was sweet and kind of funny how she kind of took charge when they were around and told them how it was going to be.
Ford Hartigan was a fun Hero to read, too. He wasn’t an alpha-hole that I’ve heard grumblings about lately. In fact, he was a pretty by-the-book rule follower, and I thought the author did a good job bringing his personality through. I also think she set up a good scenario for the Hartigan series, with all those tall, studly, fire-fighting brothers. I’m looking forward to reading the second book, for sure!
I loved every second of this book . Gina has never been beautiful , she was known as butaface . Every thing looks good but her face . Ford is all about rules . Ginas family is associated with organized crime and Ford is the detective assigned to the case . All comes together with a kiss cam. I loved every second of this book . I felt bad for Gina but loved her all the same . I liked Ford and was hoping he would do the right thing . I laughed and cried durning this book. You will love every second of it
Butterface is one of the best rom-coms I’ve read! If you love real characters and laugh out loud moments, you definitely want to grab BUTTERFACE!
This was a super fun book to read. Great characters, and storyline. I highly recommend.
This is a great and powerful female empowerment love story. You will laugh a lot. You will also cheer really loudly for Gina. This book shows us ladies that we can love ourselves for who we are and still find a man to love as we are. I can’t wait for the next book.
I absolutely loved this book! The idea of a fantastic guy who is absolutely gorgeous and has an incredible body falling for a woman who doesn’t meet societies standards for beauty in such a way that he really can’t restrain himself when she’s around… was just so refreshing. He literally saw beauty in everything she did and everything she was.
Flynn was smart enough to not make the hero absolutely perfect, either. He might even be called timid at times and I loved him to pieces! Ford was protective of Gina even while he was doing some stuff behind her back. He didn’t ever know how to fix it when he screwed up–typical male, but learned to show his emotions to try to win Gina back.
I loved the strength in Gina at the end! Fantastic!
Five Stars
Such a beautiful start to another amazing series by the incredible Avery Flynn. It’s a laugh-out-loud funny and sweet romantic comedy that tells the story about love, acceptance and loving yourself the way you are. It’s also a story about family ties and friendships. The characters stole my heart.
This is a story about Ford, who is a cop – Police Detective for the Waterbury Police Department, also charming, down to earth guy and Gina Luca who is a wedding planner, but her family is a bit notorious and she considers herself undateable. I really loved them from the moment they met and loved their development through the book. Her life wasn’t easy and she was treated with cruelty. I loved the way Ford sees her and trying to make her feel loved and cherished even though she doesn’t believe him at first. Their chemistry and connection are incredible. The banter between them was amazing filled with UST. Loved that they are both flawed, real and complex characters; both have their own insecurities but when together they are just perfect and click. On some level they really understand each other.
Can’t wait for Muffin Top.
Loved his family. Loved the premise. Loved the ending. It was just an ok story though.
I loved this book. It’s about embracing your flaws and finding that special someone who looks past society’s narrow constructs of beauty to embrace them too.