Title: The Butterfly Room
Author: Lucinda Riley
Published: April 23rd 2019
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 624
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary/Historical, Romance
RRP: $29.99
Rating: 4 stars
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 butterflies with her beloved father, and raised her own children, Posy knows she must make an agonising 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 . . .
Review:
Secrets are at the heart of the brand new standalone novel and sprawling family saga from international bestselling author, Lucinda Riley. The Butterfly Room is an impassioned novel, unfolding over multiple timelines, revealing a tale of war, romance, mystery and tragedy.
Admiral House, deep in the Suffolk countryside, is the central setting of Lucinda Riley’s new novel, The Butterfly Room. It follows the life and times of Posy Montague, a woman who grew up in the shadowy secrets of her countryside estate. Posy still resides in her stunning family estate at age seventy. With strong memories of days spent with her beloved father as a child exploring the grounds of Admiral House and chasing butterflies, Posy cannot bear to let her family home go. However, it becomes increasingly obvious that Admiral House is in desperate need of repair, its walls are falling down by the day and Posy knows her only option is to sell. A figure from the past, a man who Posy has tried to forget reappears. As Posy tries dealing with the swirling emotions connected to the return of a lost love, she must also deal with complications arising from her extended family. Posy isn’t sure if she is ready to let Freddie, her lost love, back into her life again, but a long held secret may impact Posy’s fate and her dear Admiral House. The Butterfly Room is an all encompassing family saga, full of hidden truths and heartbreaking moments.
The Butterfly Room is an exquisitely presented novel. Each different time frame and point of view change over is marked by a stunning page divider. There are motifs of different types of butterflies and various plant species that can be found at Admiral House, the prime location of The Butterfly Room. Themes of nature, botany and butterflies are carried right through the novel. Thanks to the beautiful imagery adorning the pages of The Butterfly Room, I came to look forward to each turn of the page.
Lucinda Riley is the queen of historical based family sagas. The Butterfly Room is a solid example of her ability to weave a complex family mystery around themes of war, secrets, lost love and emotion. The Butterfly Room sits at over six hundred pages, but I promise you, the pages of this novel will turn themselves! I couldn’t bring myself to put this one down, I just had to unlock the secrets of Admiral House! Riley adds plenty of intrigue, twists, turns and plot diversions, which keeps the reader in tune with the novel.
As this is a multi generational saga, there are plenty of characters to keep the reader busy. I found that I connected to Posy in the past, rather than the present day. The contemporary characters were well drawn and had their own intriguing set of background stories, as well as complications. However, I did feel like my loyalty and interest was directed to Posy’s past. The past segments of the novel are quite arresting. I had some theories about Posy’s family situation, but the final culmination of events and the shocking revelations that are made by the close of the novel took me aback.
My final word on The Butterfly Room is the presence of Admiral House. Posy’s family estate is a protruding figure, looming over the characters for the entire length of the novel. Riley really knows how to conjure up an atmospheric backdrop and the presentation of Admiral House is simply breathtaking. The surrounding Suffolk countryside, an area I am familiar with, was so easy to visualise and provided the perfect stage to the secrets of Admiral House.
The Butterfly Room offers a fluttering tale of lost love, infidelity, betrayal, regret, jealously, affairs of the heart, drama and broken relationships. The Butterfly Room is an absorbing page turner, perfect for historical fiction lovers and fans of Riley’s work, especially if you are pining for the next book in the popular Seven Sisters series.
The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley was published on 23rd April 2019 by Pan Macmillan. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of The Butterfly Room, Lucinda Riley, visit here.
*Thanks extended to Pan Macmillan for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Giveaway!
Pan Macmillan are kindly offering 1 lucky reader an opportunity to win a copy of The Butterfly Room. Simply leave a comment below on this post to be entered into this great competition! Good luck!
*Competition open to Australian postal addresses only. Closes Thursday 2nd May 2019, 11pm (WST).
