Full of her trademark mix of unforgettable characters and heart-breaking secrets, The Butterfly Room is a spellbinding, second-chance-at-love story from #1 International bestseller Lucinda Riley.Posy Montague is approaching her seventieth birthday. Still living in her beautiful family home, Admiral House, set in the glorious Suffolk countryside where she spent her own idyllic childhood catching … catching butterflies with her beloved father, and raised her own children, Posy knows she must make an agonizing decision. Despite the memories the house holds, and the exquisite garden she has spent twenty-five years creating, the house is crumbling around her, and Posy knows the time has come to sell it.
Then a face appears from the past – Freddie, her first love, who abandoned her and left her heartbroken fifty years ago. Already struggling to cope with her son Sam’s inept business dealings, and the sudden reappearance of her younger son Nick after ten years in Australia, Posy is reluctant to trust in Freddie’s renewed affection. And unbeknown to Posy, Freddie – and Admiral House – have a devastating secret to reveal…
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Posy spent ad idyllic childhood at her family home in Suffolk, and approaching her 70th birthday, she reflects back on her life. Lots of secrets emerge from the past.
Brilliant characters and a thoroughly enjoyable read which I found hard to put down.
Love all her books
I haven’t read a Lucinda Riley book in such a long time and this cover is just so beautiful that i couldn’t say no to the first chance i’ve got to read it.
I rarely set up high expectations for my reads and this is another case where i went in almost blind because i always find myself surprise and intrigued by the story in the best possible way. And this book definitely surprised me in a good way.
Told in then and now chapters, we get to know about Posy’s life as a child and now, at almost 70 years old, as a woman who went through so much in life and that is remembering all the good and the bad times over the years. The Green House in the admiral house is like a magical place where she was the most happy in many years and brings up so many beautiful memories.
It’ a great read for the lovers of feel good fiction as it’s very heartwarming and uplifting story.
Posy has lived in Admiral House for most of her life…as a child and as a wife and mother.
Turning 70 has her thinking about the work it takes to maintain her beloved home, and she needs to make a decision about what to do with it.
We go back and forth in Posey’s life from her childhood to her adult life.
We also see that her two sons are totally opposite. Sam is a fly by night and Nick is successful.
Her sons are at odds about their mother selling their childhood home and Posey is again in the middle.
THE BUTTERFLY ROOM has old houses, family, love, and secrets.
This book is an enjoyable, cozy read with characters that you will love as much as the book’s story line.
If you need an uplifting read, you will want to put THE BUTTERFLY ROOM on your reading list. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher, BookMovement, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Lucinda Riley is an author I have come to love and respect. But this book falls way short of what I’ve come to expect from her novels. Sure, it kept my attention. And I kept turning the each page. But this book lacks subtlety and polish, the plot is overly melodramatic, and even some of the dialog is heavy handed and clumsy. To me, it feels like this one was written in a hurry, throwing together a bunch of dramatic themes and elements — all to capitalize on the popularity of Riley’s SEVEN SISTERS series.
THE BUTTERFLY ROOM is another one of those non-linear novels that are so popular these days, where the book moves back and forth in time, slowly building a full picture of someone’s life. This novel’s central character is Posy, a 70-year old British widow living alone in her family’s very large ancestral home, Admiral House. Part of the story tells about her childhood during World War II at Admiral House, her adolescence in Cornwall with her Grandmother, and her pioneering studies as one of the first women admitted to study at Cambridge University. And she has a couple of romances while pursuing a short lived career as a botanist at Kew Gardens.
The second part of the novel is Posy’s “current” life — dealing with the problems of her two grown sons, trying to figure out what to do with the rapidly deteriorating Admiral House that has become too expensive to maintain, and the sudden reappearance of a long-lost love. (Does it get more trite than that?)
And oh, the trials and tribulations! Which is where more sappy melodrama gets layered on.
• There are, of course, long-buried family secrets that, when revealed, challenge decades of beliefs.
• A young single mother dying of leukemia.
• Relationships that end suddenly, accompanied by moves halfway around the world.
• Entrepreneurs who start– then either fail OR succeed — in multiple businesses ventures.
• Alcoholism, bullying and domestic abuse.
And all the while, all the women are smart, kind, and beautiful and all but one of the men handsome, loving, and successful.
Then, of course, at the end, every single storyline is tied up perfectly so that there is a happy ending for all. I think going forward I will try to be more discerning about reading ALL the works of a favorite author. Because it appears that anyone is capable of writing a clunker.
Favorite Quotes:
As you know, men generally tend to be much more basic than women; for the most part, less emotionally complex. They call a spade a spade, whereas women are more likely to say it’s a metal digging implement used in the garden.
Evie decided seeing Marie was a bit like eating at McDonald’s; you looked forward to it, but then felt sick halfway through.
It suddenly struck me that I hadn’t really thought the future through; and now here I was in it,
She’s very young for an old person.
… the dress—a shimmering cream 1930s vintage piece that covered the lumps and bumps that age had brought, and didn’t make her look like a ship in full sail.
My Review:
This epic saga was beautifully written with enticingly mysterious and cleverly intertwining storylines that were threaded with a few heavy secrets and shattering tragedies that this grievously wily author used to taunt and tease me while brutally dangling them rather barbarously out of my reach. I was invested and immersed in the complexities of the characters’ overlapping and oddly compelling family dynamics after being bewitched and pleasantly enthralled by Posy’s early childhood history and interactions with her beloved father. But there was something not quite right about her household and I had numerous suspicions and licentious theories, many of which were incorrect, but I wasn’t too far afield as the long-held secrets had been scandalous in their time as well as heartbreaking. This was my first experience reading this master-storyteller and where have I been, she has written thirty books already?
The writing was of extraordinary quality with densely detailed and evocative elements and scenes laced together with vibrantly painted and richly textured descriptions as well as insightful and emotive observations. It was maddeningly paced and kept me a bit on edge, like waiting for a massive heart attack as the various glossy threads were weaving into a tighter design. It was divine and despite all the mystery, angst, and tragedy, the final chapter left me with a light and contented feeling with an ending that pleased me and placed a restful smile on my face.
This was such an interesting book! I enjoyed getting to see Posy in the various stages of her life. The story kept me captivated, I loved the intrigue and how each character had their secrets.
The book isn’t what I’d normally go for, but I really enjoyed the entire thing!
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review and this book had such wonderful people. Posy was almost 70 years old and we meet her two sons, and they aren’t anything alike. The book kept me reading because there was so much happening. There are old loves and new loves, secrets, and life isn’t always an easy road. There was so much more to this story than I ever imagined. I couldn’t put it down until it ended.
I even found myself fixing myself a cup of tea and enjoying it with my new friends. I thoroughly enjoyed this book
I love reading new authors….
This was a beautifully written romance story. It chronicles Posy life. Going from past to present with plenty of twist and turns.
The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley is a full length, stand-alone, second-chances story that I fell in love with after reading chapter one. This new to me author delivered an emotional, heart-wrenchingly, and intense story. A complex read that hade me believe I’m a member of this special family.
It’s a four for one book. There are 4 stories told. There are Posy, her sons Sam and Nick, Sebastian, Freddie and Evie all wrapped up in an unputdownable, made me read it in one sitting from cover to cover book.
I loved everything about this outstanding and enthralling book; the excellent writing, the beautifully thought out and beautifully told story, the twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The Butterfly Room is my favorite read in 20 so far. I recommend the book, 5 stars.
The Butterfly Room is an excellent family saga that will draw you in and you will feel you are a part of the family.
Like any family there is good and bad, there are secrets and there is love , sadness and happiness.
The story is told from 2 different eras, 1940’s as Posy grows up in Admiral House and in 2006 where Posy is now the matriarch and soon to turn 70 and has returned to Admiral House.
You cant help but turn the pages to see what happens to Posy and her family. I was sad to see the end of the book as I will miss them all.
Thanks to Net Galley and Blue Box Press, Author Buzz for the opportunity to join the Montague family if only for a short while.
I just loved this book from the very first page! I would recommend it to any and all who love books they can sink into and not come out until its finished. This story will touch you like no other. You will feel the joy and the grief but you will be glad of it all and they will all seem like family in the end. (some you may want to slap very hard but…). I was drawn at first by the name, then I saw the cover, I just knew it was going to be good.
An outstanding multi generational read that has it all. The ups and downs, the love and loss, secrets and outright lies. Posy and her family certainly seem to have it all. The ancestral home, the loving children and grandchildren, but at the heart of that beautiful, crumbling mess of mansion is a terrible secret, one that had the power to tear lovers apart. Her children may seem to have it together, but their lives are anything but. It’s interesting and intriguing and I definitely shed a tear. The storyline wad fascinating from beginning to end and no one’s life was left untouched by fate and the whims of the talented author. Another great read by Lucinda Riley.