Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble Book Review

// Butterfly Palace //

 

By Colleen Coble

 

{Review By Bethany}

Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 1595547835
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Released: January 21st, 2014

Source: Litfuse Publicity Group
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

// Book Synopsis //

 

Taken from Good Reads

 

"Lilly secures a job as lady's maid in a grand manor in Austin, Texas. But even far from home, her past lurks around every corner.

When Lilly Donnelly arrives at the Cutlers' famed Butterfly Mansion in 1899, the massive house and unfamiliar duties threaten to overwhelm her. Victorian Austin is lavish, highly political, and intimidating, but with the help of the other servants, Lilly resolves to prove herself to her new employers.

Then, while serving at an elegant dinner party, Lilly recognizes one distinguished guest as Andrew, the love of her life, who abandoned her without a word back home. He seems to have assumed a new identity and refuses to acknowledge her, leaving her confused and reeling.

Before Lilly can absorb this unwelcome news, she's attacked. Could it be the sinister Servant Girl Killer who has been terrorizing Austin? Or is it someone after something more personal--someone from her past?

Does she dare trust Andrew to help or is he part of the danger threatening to draw Lilly into its vortex?"

 

// Bethany's Book Review //

 

Romantic suspense author Colleen Coble has done it again! Filled with lots of mystery and suspense along with a light dose of romance, this Downton Abbey-like novel is sure to delight and impress, keeping you up late into the night!

 

This is the third novel I've read by Colleen Coble, and for sure my favorite of the three. (The first two were Tidewater Inn and Rosemary Cottage). I was completely blown away with this novel, since the other books I'd read by her weren't as good as this novel, in my opinion, and I absolutely loved every singe page of this novel! I remember just finishing the first chapter and thinking to myself that I already knew that without a doubt I'd have this book on my favorites list. In fact, I loved it so much, I'm putting it on my top three favorite reads of 2014!

 

If you enjoy historical fiction set in the 1900's, placed in an elaborate Texas mansion, complete with the inside look at the everyday life of the servants who keep the house functioning (this book reminded me a lot of the beloved T.V. series Downton Abbey); mixed with a health dose of mystery and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you absolutely must read this novel!

 

I just loved this setting! I mean being a proud Texan, I was already excited how the book is set in Austin Texas, and to find that it was set in a huge mansion that reminded me a lot of Downton Abbey, then I knew I'd enjoy it. This novel was everything I was hoping for based on reading the synopsis, and then some! The suspense in this novel really surprised me. I knew Colleen mainly wrote suspense novels, but this one was a masterpiece! I loved how she combined the time period and setting with the mystery, and found it to be a very interesting suspense, filled with lots of historical details. Another thing I noticed was how well thought out the plot was. There were constant twists and turns in the story that left me on the edge of my seat and re-evaluation who I assumed was behind the dangerous undercover work. It was obvious with how smoothly the story flowed that the author thought out the plot very well, and it definitely showed! 

 

While I do highly recommend this book to historical suspense fans, I will say that due to some mature content, I would only recommend this book to mature readers. Mature content included a scene where a couples' kissing lead went too far and resulted in an alluded love scene whilst in a barn alone. While not many details were given of the event, the idea that they were involved in an inappropriate love scene was obviously alluded to, though not obviously stated. I felt like the romance scenes were a little overly mushy, and ended up skipping most of the kissing scenes as there was a bit more passion than I cared to read. There were also several scenes involving a murderer, and while again not many details were given, there were a few details on how the victim's necks were slit, as well as a scene were a body was found. While the author did handle these scenes without giving overly gory details, younger readers will still want to take caution when reading.

 

D I S C L A I M E R :: I received a free copy of Butterfly Palace from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not paid to write this review, and all thoughts expressed in my review are completely unbiased and honest.