Bitchin' Blog Posts
Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight
by SB Sarah | April 21, 2009 | Tuesday at 10:30 am | 174 CommentsTitle: Butterfly Tattoo
Author: Deidre Knight
Publication Info: Samhain Publishing 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60504-134
Genre: Contemporary Romance
A User’s Guide for Reading Butterfly Tattoo:
1. Put aside your concepts of what love is, between whom it should be shared, and what a partnership, marriage, loving relationship or family should look like.
2. Definitely forget about your standard expectations of hero archetypes. Michael, the hero, is an electrician. He’s muscular. He’s damn fine to look at. He’s a single father.
So far so good, right?
He’s a widower.
Not uncommon, right?
His former spouse was a man named Alex. Alex was killed in a car accident that left their daughter scarred and his family broken.
3. Forget your automatic rejection of books that switch first-person point of view, or are from first person point of view. Also, prepare to notice and then stop noticing that the book is in the present tense. The first-person and the tense combine to lend an immediacy to the prose that, quite simply, work for both the emotional impact and the narrative progression.
Plus, as a device it underscores the urgency and immediacy of the characters’ grief, and their risks, and their bravery. The tension of their pain and the potential of their fragile happiness is more urgent in the present tense, and after I saw it, I didn’t see it anymore. The way in which the book is written almost seems like each chapter is an episode of a season of a drama, or a telenovela. It’s a visual book, and Knight’s mastery of the individual and larger story arcs in each chapter and in the whole of the book add to the multi-sensual experience of reading it.
4. Stop relying on labels. Hetero. Bi. Gay. Father. Mother. Family.
Please recognize that the foundation of the romance genre absolutely does include books like this one, and that the attraction and love between two people regardless of sex and gender is the bedrock of the romance industry. The connection is the story, not the people at either end of it. The sooner we as readers include books that step outside the traditional lines, the more outstanding narratives we will have to read.
As a corollary, I want to point out that it is a crying, screaming, full-on-raging-tantrum shame that this book is ineligible for a RITA. Not because of the content or the story, but because of the production requirements facing digital publishers. This book may not receive the recognition within our genre that it deserves because of poorly-defined and applied labels, and that problem needs fixing, pronto.
5. Do not skip the longer paragraphs. No seriously. Don’t skip like I do. I tend to read for dialogue and will find myself passing over long blocks of descriptive text, just like my eyes start scanning long paragraphs online.
Don’t do that. I made the mistake in the first few pages and clicked my sorry ass backwards through the file because I had missed some truly eloquent writing. For example:
When you work with writers for a living like I do, life’s little details are an herb garden, and you pluck a few ripe things here and there to give away…..
Then, without meaning to, I leave the room. Not physically, of course, but my mind flutters away. I’m eight feet high, pasted against the ceiling, floating there. Bobbing above them all, listening in. I’m watching her, down there; that girl at her desk with the Montblanc pen and the ruined face, lost in a company town, in her remote corner of an oversized studio lot.
I can’t say enough about Knight’s writing. The prose is lyrical, each word deliberately wrought, like fine stitchwork on an enormous piece of embroidery. Every stitch is exquisite.
Further, do not skip the book because it is big. And it is. For an ebook, it’s bloody huge. But fear not. It flies.
With that list in place, before I forget: plot summary ahoy!
Rebecca O’Neill is a former actress who was attacked by a crazed fan, stabbed and slashed and left for dead. A few years later, she is a shell of her former self, scarred and damaged, afflicted with asthma and a tendency toward panic disorders. Instead of an actress, she’s a producer, working behind the scenes, hiding behind her hair, living in the shadow of the sets that constituted her former life.
When the lights go out in her office, she meets Michael Warner and his daughter, Andrea. Michael, an electrician, seems as lost and sad as Rebecca does, but because they meet in the dark, Rebecca feels secure enough to act a tiny bit on the instant and powerful attraction between herself and Michael. When she volunteers to take Andrea to get something to eat while he works on the power, she learns that Andrea is scarred like she is, and that Andrea’s father, Alex, died. Michael, Andrea says, is her step father. Michael, it would seem, is gay.
Yet Michael is drawn to Rebecca, as is Andrea, and the three of them form fast and deep connections across lines that aren’t normally crossed in a romance. Not only is Michael conflicted about getting over the memory of his first love, but he’s conflicted about being attracted to a woman, about bringing her into his life, about whether he’s gay, or bi, or straight, or just broken.
Rebecca is cautious, and tries to break out of her assumptions and predefined concepts of gayness and straightness - which are pretty clear-cut in Hollywood culture, it seems - and learns to trust Michael, trust herself, and try risking herself and her emotional happiness, trading her stagnant inert life for the excitement and potentially painful hurt of being with Michael.
And then there’s Andrea, who has withdrawn after surviving the accident that killed her father but finds herself connecting easily to Rebecca. She no longer calls Michael “Daddy,” but breaks out of her own shell in a hurry when she sees Rebecca. Her attempt to tell Michael about meeting Rebecca is revealing in its awkward pain:
Andrea stops then, wrapping her small, pale arms around herself in a bear hug. “Her scars still hurt sometimes, too. That’s what she said.”
I fight the urge to reach for her, to try and hold her. Like some hostage negotiator, I’m forced to play observer in my own family, as she edges nearer by the moment. “Like mine does.”
Andrea, Michael, and Rebecca’s stories become intertwined as they learn from and help to heal one another. But the speed with which Michael and Rebecca fall for one another seemed incredibly fast, almost too fast, as if their emotions were confirmed aloud so the plot could move forward, not because their emotions were the plot at that point. Both characters have to fall in love again as part of their healing, but while Michael resisted loving Rebecca, he also admitted his attraction to himself almost immediately, moving again on the same instinct that had led him to Alex. Rebecca’s affections, though mentioned, are not as explored in nuance as Michael’s and for that reason her comments about her own emotions seem to be more replies to his than statements of her own volition. He’s taking steps. She’s still being blown around by whatever force is closest to her.
In the end, it seemed that Michael had fully realized that he had to move on, take risks, and step off the path of grief and self-recrimination. He took deliberate steps in a new direction, and the reader saw the progress, and the effects of his actions.
But for Rebecca, on the other hand, the reader didn’t get to witness as much, and I was left wishing I’d seen more of her own emergence from her former life into a new one. She realizes that she’s too easily pushed by others, and has been living a fraction of her life inside the security of her routine and her lack of connection with people, but the actions she takes to counter her routine aren’t entirely seen. She mentions that she’s going to take a step in a different direction, one that might change her life, but the outcome of that action is never mentioned.
It seemed unfair to me that while I knew so many aspects of Michael’s future, I didn’t know all the elements of Rebecca’s, as much as I was rooting for them both. With the degree of pain they were both in at the start, I wanted more assurance of both characters’ healing.
That said, both characters transform, grow up, and move out of a shell of protective grief into the raw and scary challenge of taking risks and caring about another person again. And the risk of the characters lives echoes the risk of the book itself. The ending scenes were so powerful and touching, I cried.
Using that list as a guideline, I challenge you to read this book. The gauntlet has been thrown. This book, and its plot, are incredibly powerful, and incredibly brave. To base a major conflict on questioning the sexuality of the hero, and to emphasize love and emotional commitment over gender and sexual politics, is a big, powerful, brave, and onerous task to undertake in a romance novel. I know if I described this to some friends who like romance, the minute I got to the hero’s gay relationship, they’d balk. Knight doesn’t pay lip service to the idea of going from a committed gay relationship to a heterosexual one, either. The fact that Michael has found himself attracted to a woman is noticed by all of his friends, and his family, and Alex’s family. And Rebecca isn’t always sure what to make of Michael’s past relationship either, or how to go about talking to him or anyone else about it.
But like most people who face life-or-death situations, the only things that truly matter are not what people think, or what people say. It’s the people who love you and the people you love who matter. Love is real, it is painful, it is powerful, and it is brave, much like this book.
Angela James and Samhain Publishing are offering four digital copies to our readers. Plus, Deirdre Knight is sweetening the pot (literally) and one lucky grand prize winner will receive a digital copy and a selection of Godiva chocolates. So leave a comment, any comment, and you’re entered to win. I’ll be at RT tomorrow but you have 24 hours to leave a comment. Winners will be announced this week.
Filed: General Bitching, Reviews, Grade A, Authors, H-K
Tagged: writing, sexuality, sex, samhain, publishers, politics, hero
Maggie said on 04.21.09 at 11:26 AM • [comment link]
Between DA’s review and this one, I am incredibly tempted. Put in an entry for me please!
I really like the premise for the story, and how it seems to be defying labels.
StephB said on 04.21.09 at 11:49 AM • [comment link]
Please enter me in the drawing! It sounds really intriguing.
ijinx said on 04.21.09 at 11:53 AM • [comment link]
Oh, I will read the book, even if I don’t get it for free, but the thought of Godiva chocolates after 40 loooooooong days of lent made me write this comment. I crave them - give them to me!
hollygee said on 04.21.09 at 11:53 AM • [comment link]
This sounds incredibly interesting. I’m in, please.
Lissanne said on 04.21.09 at 11:55 AM • [comment link]
Sounds like a great book - thanks for the review, I’ll add it to my reading list.
ev said on 04.21.09 at 12:14 PM • [comment link]
Definately outside my usual reading norm, but one I am more than willing to drop onto my Sony whether or not I win one. On the off chance I do, I will just have to wait a couple of days though!
Too bad that it isn’t eligible for the RITA’s. It sounds like they need to catch up with the times.
Erin said on 04.21.09 at 12:37 PM • [comment link]
Wow, this sounds like an enormously complex story. I’d love to give it a try!
chlor said on 04.21.09 at 12:39 PM • [comment link]
Wow I am soooo intrigued by the premise of this one - definitely must read it! I’d love to be considered for a freebie copy!
Ms. Kelly said on 04.21.09 at 12:43 PM • [comment link]
This sounds like it is right up my alley. Please enter me.
catie said on 04.21.09 at 01:04 PM • [comment link]
I have been dying—DYING—for a romance novel that pushes the boundaries like Ms. Night does in BUTTERFLY TATTOO. I’m thrilled to see her break the mold, not only with a heroine who is truly a less-than-physical ideal, but with a hero whom she refuses to define as bi/gay/straight! There’s not enough space in the galaxy to contain my squees.
SB Sarah said on 04.21.09 at 01:13 PM • [comment link]
There’s not enough space in the galaxy to contain my squees.
That’s awesome. If I read cover quotes like that, my day would be MADE. Heads up, publishing folks. Squee is the new black.
Cheryl McInnis said on 04.21.09 at 01:16 PM • [comment link]
I read the excerpt for this while cruising around the Samhain site, and I loved the premise, and the first person voice, but wasn’t sure if the story was a romance or not- I need my happy ending! After reading your amazing review though, I’ll definitely be picking BUTTERFLY TATTOO up.
Lyndall said on 04.21.09 at 01:49 PM • [comment link]
Wow! What a great review, I probably wouldn’t have read this but I will now!!! Thanks
Becky said on 04.21.09 at 01:51 PM • [comment link]
... ooooooh. :D *adds to growing must-buy list*
CT said on 04.21.09 at 01:53 PM • [comment link]
Need chocolate. But I’m buying this book regardless.
Chris said on 04.21.09 at 01:59 PM • [comment link]
Hmm. This is about the 4th or 5th really good review I’ve read of the book - it’s definitely going on my to-read list.
AgTigress said on 04.21.09 at 02:06 PM • [comment link]
This sounds like a genuinely interesting novel on every level. I’d like it to be available as one of those old-fashioned things called books, with paper pages and print, and then I’d buy it… ;-)
I have just been re-reading, for the umpteenth time, Mary Renault’s The Charioteer, which was a very courageous and ground-breaking story in its time (published 1953, set in 1940). For anyone who doesn’t know it, is a story of male homosexual love. The point of mentioning it is that a reader who is neither male nor gay can immediately identify with the characters, because the real subject is about much more than ‘homosexuality’ or ‘heterosexuality’ or any of the ever-changing labels we place on emotional and sexual relationships: the subject is the nature of human love.
From this excellent review, it sounds as though that is the case with Knight’s book too, and if it is, it is a truly important novel that deserves to be widely read.
GrowlyCub said on 04.21.09 at 02:10 PM • [comment link]
It sounds intriguing! Please enter me.
And I have a recommendation for a British series that deals with a gay man falling in love with a woman. It’s available on Netflix. At first I was a bit worried because I liked it so much and it seemed like such a straight woman’s wish-fulfillment fantasy, but it turns out it’s based on a true story, so guilt-free watching! :)
It’s called ‘Bob and Rose’.
SandyW said on 04.21.09 at 02:15 PM • [comment link]
Any book that you and Jane at DA are this enthusiastic over must go on the Read It Now list.
inez kelley said on 04.21.09 at 02:21 PM • [comment link]
I will even let you keep the chocolates if I could win this book! The story sounds sweet enough.
tls said on 04.21.09 at 02:30 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like a great book. Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks.
Lori S. said on 04.21.09 at 02:36 PM • [comment link]
Wow. Anything you and Jane both squee over is a definite must for the TBR list. Count me in!
katiebabs said on 04.21.09 at 02:38 PM • [comment link]
Thanks so much Sarah for the recommendation of this book. I should have my review up tomorrow. Beautiful and eloquent is what Butterfly Tattoo is.
Rachel J said on 04.21.09 at 02:41 PM • [comment link]
The book sounds really interesting. Even though I can be put off a book by it being in first person, I’ve always been blown away when I do give one a chance. Maybe this book could be one of those.
word: sure99
MRM said on 04.21.09 at 02:43 PM • [comment link]
This sounds like a good read… I’d love to be in the drawing.
Louisa Edwards said on 04.21.09 at 02:47 PM • [comment link]
Butterfly Tattoo is an amazing, wonderful book that will wrench your heart and force you to redefine everything you thought you knew about love and family. The characters and the language will stick with you long after you finish reading.
Please don’t waste a contest entry on me, since I’ve already read and fallen in love with it! Whoever wins has a treat in store, though.
PennyH said on 04.21.09 at 02:52 PM • [comment link]
I love to read all kinds of books and can’t wait to read this one!
MaryKate said on 04.21.09 at 02:54 PM • [comment link]
Sarah - Wow. You did such a wonderful job capturing the essence of this book. I blew through it in about three hours.
The last step in Sarah’s magnificent list is, get your kleenex ready. This is an emotional and raw book. That being said, it’s a marvelous read. Totally worth it!
Please don’t enter me in the drawing, I just wanted to compliment you on a really beautifully written review.
PK said on 04.21.09 at 02:54 PM • [comment link]
This book sounds incredible and I’m anxious to read it. Lyrical prose, intelligent treatment of subjects like not choosing love but having love choose you, no matter the gender of the person and excellent writing is way more than enough to recommend this to me. Add me to the screaming queue of people who want to win.
mcnappy said on 04.21.09 at 02:58 PM • [comment link]
No way I could pass up the chance to get a free copy of this-but I will pick it up regardless, as well. It sounds great! I love reading stuff that generates so much passion.
Heather said on 04.21.09 at 03:00 PM • [comment link]
Enter me! Enter me! It sounds like a beautiful story.
I was going to make a comment about the line between gay and straight is not the impenetrable wall that most people make it out to be, that it’s a lot more fluid and permeable, but it’s too early in the morning for deep thought.
Kim said on 04.21.09 at 03:03 PM • [comment link]
Sounds really interesting! *makes note to buy*
Karlie said on 04.21.09 at 03:05 PM • [comment link]
Sounds good, I would love to win.
jillyfae said on 04.21.09 at 03:09 PM • [comment link]
oooh, this is definitely on my TBB pile, but a freebie version would be awesome. Pretty please? :D And if it’s as good as it sounds, I’ll be buying a second copy for my mom… sounds like something she’d like.
word: hours72 Does that mean I’ll know if I got it w/in 3 days? ;)
Elizabeth Wadsworth said on 04.21.09 at 03:13 PM • [comment link]
Second that. This one sounds as if it could even overcome my loathing for the present tense. Any chance it’ll be released as a “real” book???
MaryKate said on 04.21.09 at 03:16 PM • [comment link]
For those asking, I just read a comment from Deidre on another blog that Butterfly Tattoo will be out in print in January. So that’s good news!
Babs said on 04.21.09 at 03:30 PM • [comment link]
Wow, from that review I am intrugued.
I’ve been looking for something a little different from my standards…this just might be it!
kathybaug said on 04.21.09 at 03:30 PM • [comment link]
This sounds very intriguing. Please enter me in the drawing.
Crystal said on 04.21.09 at 03:31 PM • [comment link]
This sounds like an amazing book. Please enter me, but whether I win or not, I will have to have a copy. Thanks for the wonderfully written review!
Shaina said on 04.21.09 at 03:35 PM • [comment link]
this sounds amazing…i would love to give it a shot!
Kelly said on 04.21.09 at 03:38 PM • [comment link]
This sounds like a wonderful story. I would love to win a copy.
AbbyT said on 04.21.09 at 03:41 PM • [comment link]
Wow! This book sounds amazing! Hats of to Knight for tackling it!
Deidre Knight said on 04.21.09 at 03:41 PM • [comment link]
Sarah, major thanks for this incredible review!! You really did a great job of capturing the book’s heart and i am very grateful. Obviously, this is a book that a lot of readers could easily bypass, so this support means the world to me. Thanks to everyone here, too, for all the MANY wonderful posts. I’m in awe right now. Truly. I also owe Sarah a drink at RT! :)
Deidre Knight said on 04.21.09 at 03:43 PM • [comment link]
And why the heck did my “I” come out as “i”? I guess I did that! I’m actually a literate person. Ahem. But that gives me one more opportunity to say thanks again! :)
Jenyfer Matthews said on 04.21.09 at 03:46 PM • [comment link]
I happen to love first person :)
verity said on 04.21.09 at 03:51 PM • [comment link]
I’d love to read this!
Fitz said on 04.21.09 at 03:53 PM • [comment link]
I wanna read it!
Marianne McA said on 04.21.09 at 03:57 PM • [comment link]
I’d like to be entered too…
(GrowlyCub, after I read the review at DA yesterday, I had also remembered Bob and Rose, and that Russell T Davies had said that that story was based on a real life couple.)
Brandi Bradley said on 04.21.09 at 03:57 PM • [comment link]
I would love to read this book. I personally feel that there are not enough books written in the present tense. I want to see how it was done.
This sounds like a fantastically complex love story and that is exactly what I adore.
Lia said on 04.21.09 at 03:58 PM • [comment link]
I’d love a copy of this book. Take a chance on me…
JanLo said on 04.21.09 at 04:03 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like an amazing book. I’m definitely up for some lyrical prose and a story for the thinking rather than judging person. Sign me up for the drawing.
StacieH4 said on 04.21.09 at 04:13 PM • [comment link]
Please, expand my horizons!
Thanks for the chance to win something cool.
Kelly Williams said on 04.21.09 at 04:15 PM • [comment link]
Sounds fantastic! Please count me in.
Rubi Jayne said on 04.21.09 at 04:19 PM • [comment link]
I would love to read this book. Not only am I curious to see how the present tense is handled, but it just sounds like an incredible story.
Thanks for the review.
<3<3
phinea said on 04.21.09 at 04:23 PM • [comment link]
I can’t wait to read this book!
shuzluva said on 04.21.09 at 04:25 PM • [comment link]
Can’t agree with you more there!
This book sounds totally intriguing, and I absolutely love Diedre Knight’s work. The Parallel series is fantastic and I CANNOT WAIT for Red Kiss to come out. Greek mythology mixed with romance = total awesomeness. If you haven’t read Red Fire, I highly recommend it!
Jasmine said on 04.21.09 at 04:29 PM • [comment link]
SQUEE!
What an awesome review I’d love to read this book. Honestly the part about the book that—without the review, would—hit my back button is the child character. I don’t normally like children but this review definitely made me want to read it!
Kheya said on 04.21.09 at 04:30 PM • [comment link]
Can I just say yippee!!!! As a bisexual, it is refreshing for me to see this be explored (in a genre I love and adore) in a meaningful way.
K
Estelle Chauvelin said on 04.21.09 at 04:30 PM • [comment link]
I’m in, if my comment will be accepted this time.
FD said on 04.21.09 at 04:30 PM • [comment link]
Wow. I have to say, Samhain makes some smart choices. Both marketing and editorial. Thumbs up to them.
I don’t think there’s a chance in a million that I’d have read this without the review - it’s the sort of book that (particularly from an e-pub) would be easy to assume would be exploitative and distastefully edged on gender issues.
But now, I really want to.
Marilyn Brant said on 04.21.09 at 04:33 PM • [comment link]
I already happen to be a fan of Deidre’s writing :) but, Sarah, your review makes me wildly intrigued—please count me in.
p.s. And have fun at RT!!
Theresa said on 04.21.09 at 04:47 PM • [comment link]
Ohh, enter me please! Between this review and DA’s, I am mightily intrigued.
Meredith said on 04.21.09 at 04:55 PM • [comment link]
Please enter meeee!
Chicklet said on 04.21.09 at 05:00 PM • [comment link]
Oooh, oooh, oooh! I want to be entered in the contest! But even if I don’t win, I’ll be buying a copy of this book. It sounds like the boundary-breaking book I’ve been waiting for.
Becky said on 04.21.09 at 05:11 PM • [comment link]
Sounds fantastic! I definitely have to check this one out.
cursingmama said on 04.21.09 at 05:14 PM • [comment link]
Have been reading a lot of very positive reviews for this book - just may break into my savings account so I can purchase an ereader just to keep it with me as my go to read in my purse! Can not wait to get my hands on it.
Leti M said on 04.21.09 at 05:14 PM • [comment link]
Please enter me for the contest.
This book looks amazing. The gay/bi/straight aspect mirrors mine and my partner’s lives so much.
Thanks for reviewing such a ‘non-trad’ romance!
Liz said on 04.21.09 at 05:17 PM • [comment link]
I’ll definitely buy it if I don’t win, but can’t pass up a contest! Please enter me!
Dagny said on 04.21.09 at 05:21 PM • [comment link]
I can’t imagine how great this book will be because the DA and SB reviews have me on the verge of tears.
melisa said on 04.21.09 at 05:27 PM • [comment link]
Please enter me too. Even if I don’t win, I’ll be buying. Good stories are always what I am looking for.
azteclady said on 04.21.09 at 05:33 PM • [comment link]
I’m definitely throwing my name in the hat for a copy.
(I will get it either way though)
Lovecow2000 said on 04.21.09 at 05:36 PM • [comment link]
This is not my usual fare as I normally go for less emo titles. I am intrigued by both your review and Jane’s because from these reviews it seems that the quality of the writing and break with traditional narrative structures and reader expectations make this a very interesting read.
I love genre bending where books are clearly in the right genre (i.e. contemporary romance), but totally bend the accepted rules and norms. Wonderful reviews! Ms. Knight and Samhain should be very proud.
Why not make this part of the “Save the Contemporary” campaign?
Missy Ann said on 04.21.09 at 05:40 PM • [comment link]
I am intrigued… off to add it to the Wishlist.
Katie Ann said on 04.21.09 at 05:52 PM • [comment link]
Man I was about two paragraphs into this review and was already scouring Amazon and paperbackswap—and not finding it—before I realized it was an eBook. Will definitely be buying this if I don’t win.
Diane/Anonym2857 said on 04.21.09 at 05:54 PM • [comment link]
This isn’t normally a book I would have looked twice at (provided it was in paper, since I don’t generally read e-books LOL), but after all the conversation and the reviews on SB and DA, I too must join the ranks of the intrigued.
Diane :o)
A.M. Hartnett said on 04.21.09 at 05:54 PM • [comment link]
Holy crap. Want. Count me in.
Morgan said on 04.21.09 at 05:54 PM • [comment link]
Wow, this sounds like such a good book! I’m especially intrigued by the last part of the review, talking about how others react to Michael’s new relationship with a woman. I just got through reading a Harlequin from the ‘80s with the alpha male who knows what’s best for the woman all along, and treats her badly up until the end, but only because he’s so in love with her. This would be such a welcome change!!
Betsy said on 04.21.09 at 05:54 PM • [comment link]
With the end of the semester fast approaching, I am in desperate need of fun reading. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Please?
Joel said on 04.21.09 at 06:04 PM • [comment link]
The link from the image is broken. It looks as though the new url is http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/butterfly-tattoo
Deena said on 04.21.09 at 06:08 PM • [comment link]
That sounds really good. I love non-traditional romance stories.
Bethany said on 04.21.09 at 06:24 PM • [comment link]
A book about sexuality that actually considers… gasp... sexual identity fluidity!! Please, please sign this queer up!
KL said on 04.21.09 at 06:24 PM • [comment link]
Pardon me while I get my Shatner on.
Must wait…until birthday…ereader…arrives….. Can’t…purchase…yet!
Suze said on 04.21.09 at 06:26 PM • [comment link]
Me, I want one! I also want an e-reader! Feel free to tag one of those on, as well. Oh, uh, yes, I guess I could buy one… But WHICH one? Dammit, I hate shopping!
I read a fantasy novel a LONG time ago by Gael Baudino, in which the lesbian heroine explained to another character that her love relationship wasn’t based on her beloved’s gender, it was just that the person she loved most in the world just happened to be female. Which made me go, Huh.
CantateForever said on 04.21.09 at 06:30 PM • [comment link]
Sounds good! Why can’t the book be entered for a RITA? I don’t get it.
Kanch said on 04.21.09 at 06:35 PM • [comment link]
The book sounds great and I’d love to win a copy!
Sarah W. said on 04.21.09 at 06:42 PM • [comment link]
I’m sure my friend would loan me her eReader for Butterfly Tattoo, as long as she could read it, too—-and I shared any chocolate that might go along with it. . .
psst, Suze: Was that Gossamer Axe? I love that story; my copy is held together with book tape and paperclips.
schwartzie said on 04.21.09 at 06:45 PM • [comment link]
Please enter me! Sounds good!
Kristen said on 04.21.09 at 06:53 PM • [comment link]
Yay! for Deidre! I know what this book means to her and I’m so pleased to see it getting this kind of attention.
Scrin said on 04.21.09 at 06:58 PM • [comment link]
Sounds interesting. Count me in!
Willa said on 04.21.09 at 07:15 PM • [comment link]
Ooh, sounds good! I love novels that question or play with gender. Please enter me in the contest.
Breanna said on 04.21.09 at 07:15 PM • [comment link]
The book sounds cool. I’m in.
Hydecat said on 04.21.09 at 07:18 PM • [comment link]
Wow. I don’t often sign up for books that might make me cry, but I’d like a chance to win this one… it sounds unique.
Sandra D said on 04.21.09 at 07:19 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like a fascinating read, count me in for the draw please!
Christine M. said on 04.21.09 at 07:24 PM • [comment link]
Count me in and if I were not to win, well, that will be the first digital book I buy in my life, while I wair for a paper version to be released. The book sounds awesome.
Kate Davies said on 04.21.09 at 07:38 PM • [comment link]
*raising hand* Me too, please!
And if I don’t win, it’ll be in my shopping cart at MBAM the next day. I’ve been *dying* to read this one.
Faellie said on 04.21.09 at 07:47 PM • [comment link]
and me please.
Egads said on 04.21.09 at 08:07 PM • [comment link]
Add my name to the draw please. This sounds really interesting.
Bleulucy said on 04.21.09 at 08:09 PM • [comment link]
Sounds wonderful. Please count me in.
amytiger said on 04.21.09 at 08:11 PM • [comment link]
Count me in, sounds like a very interesting book :)
Mary M. said on 04.21.09 at 08:41 PM • [comment link]
I read Jane’s review of this book at Dear Author yesterday and it had completely won me over. But a second opinion, especially when well-penned and exhautive, is just as welcome :). I am glad that you are pimping an unusual and deserving book that would probably have had trouble to find its public otherwise.
Staple said on 04.21.09 at 08:41 PM • [comment link]
This looks to be a very very interesting book although I haven’t read many ebooks, I’d be more than willing to on your recommendation.
sent38: Nuh uh! I only sent in one comment.
molly said on 04.21.09 at 08:44 PM • [comment link]
How interesting, I will have to look for this book
K-chan said on 04.21.09 at 09:04 PM • [comment link]
You’ve definitely piqued my interest, count me in!
Heather said on 04.21.09 at 09:06 PM • [comment link]
I saw the review for this book on DA. Pick me! I would love to read it.
Tina C. said on 04.21.09 at 09:18 PM • [comment link]
This is not the sort of book that I would normally read. For one thing, I’ve never understood the straight woman’s attraction to m/m. It doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t intrigue me, either. Add to that the fact that it’s an ebook—a long ebook, at that. I hate reading books on my computer. Finally, I don’t like present tense at all.
In fact, if not for your review, I would have passed this book long by and never even thought about it. Your review, though, makes me very intrigued. 99.99% of the time, the stuff you really like, I really like. Drat! Now I’m going to have to read a book on my computer in present tense because, even if I don’t win, I’m going to track this down.
Strategerie said on 04.21.09 at 09:21 PM • [comment link]
I would LOVE to read this book! Please enter me in the contest.
-S
Helen M said on 04.21.09 at 09:35 PM • [comment link]
Oh my goodness. The SB review had me sniffling, and then I clicked over to read the DA review mentioned by others…if the reviews made me tear up and sniffle this much, I’m almost afraid to read to the book itself! Almost, but not entirely. Please enter me into the contest!
megalith said on 04.21.09 at 09:49 PM • [comment link]
Sorry, don’t have time to read through any of the comments; I’m already late for work. Just wanted to say that this book sounds great, and I’ve enjoyed reading Deidre Knight in the past. So, consider me entered, please.
megalith said on 04.21.09 at 09:52 PM • [comment link]
and geeze, did you have to add chocolate on top of a great read? Devils, you Bitches!
hanne said on 04.21.09 at 10:02 PM • [comment link]
Sounds amazing! Please count me in.
Meghan said on 04.21.09 at 10:03 PM • [comment link]
Ooh, sounds very interesting! Enter me, please!
Christine said on 04.21.09 at 10:06 PM • [comment link]
Two A’s ? (Dear Author’s and yours). WOW.
Add me to the drawing please and thank you.
willaful said on 04.21.09 at 10:22 PM • [comment link]
Sounds so interesting. I’m hoping that it is just “traditional” enough to still have a HEA, though!
Julie M said on 04.21.09 at 10:39 PM • [comment link]
This really sounds good. I definitely want to read it.
SonomaLass said on 04.21.09 at 10:40 PM • [comment link]
Jane’s review at DA had me rushing to the Samhain sight last night to read the excerpt. I probably would have bought it there and then, but I was a few hours too early. So I’m still eligible for one of the generously donated freeeebooks. I can’t wait to read more.
Eli said on 04.21.09 at 10:40 PM • [comment link]
Must have. I had an immediate vision of my niece (18 mo) and her new communication tool. Hand straight in the air “Meeeee!” And I’ll even throw in the sign for please that she uses when its something she really really wants.
Sarah L said on 04.21.09 at 10:42 PM • [comment link]
I would love a chance to check this book out.
Marigold Windswept said on 04.21.09 at 10:52 PM • [comment link]
Oh, please add me to the list. This sounds like a great story.
There. I’ve done it. First comment after months of lurking - I feel an addiction coming on.
Chicklet said on 04.21.09 at 10:55 PM • [comment link]
@ CantateForever: This book isn’t eligible for the RITAs because ebooks are not accepted for entry in the contest.
(This is my second comment in the thread—I hope that doesn’t throw off the drawing for the contest.)
kaetchen said on 04.21.09 at 11:01 PM • [comment link]
Count. Me. In.
This sounds like the kick-ass sort of book I’m needing just now. As with the others, I’ll be picking it up either way!
SandyLou said on 04.21.09 at 11:13 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like an interesting read. I would love to read it!
Kimberly B. said on 04.21.09 at 11:27 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like an intriguing read, one I might not have picked up otherwise. Thanks for the great review!
Teresa said on 04.21.09 at 11:50 PM • [comment link]
Sounds like a very good time to try a new author. I don’t think I have every read Deidre Knight.
SonomaLass said on 04.22.09 at 12:03 AM • [comment link]
SB Sarah, I love your “User’s Guide.” I wish there were more books out there that warranted such an approach. Let’s hear it for new approaches!
Cassie said on 04.22.09 at 12:28 AM • [comment link]
I’ve been noticing a lot of present tense stories lately. What’s up with that?
However, I have also noticed that, like you mentioned, if the author is good I stop noticing it after a while.
This book sounds really good. I love me some damaged hero.
Shannon said on 04.22.09 at 12:43 AM • [comment link]
This sounds like a really amazing story. I’ll definitely need to check it out.
Kirsten said on 04.22.09 at 12:46 AM • [comment link]
I am a sucker for unusual stories and this one has definitely peaked my interest. I’d love to be entered for a chance to win the ebook. I have just found your site after hearing you on NPR and must say I am enjoying it immensely.
Brook said on 04.22.09 at 12:57 AM • [comment link]
Sounds interesting. Count me in.
Elisa Jankowski said on 04.22.09 at 01:03 AM • [comment link]
I *love* what Deidre’s written so far, and I’m quite excited to get into this one - it’s definitely going on by TBB list! Go Deidre!
The review was fantastic - if you guys gave it an A-, it had to be a great book! :) Please put my name in the hat for the drawing!
Thanks!
TJ said on 04.22.09 at 01:24 AM • [comment link]
What a great-sounding book. I really loathe the labels that everyone feels the need to identify people as, so this is definitely something I’m interested in reading for the future. :3
Jennifer Lohmann said on 04.22.09 at 01:40 AM • [comment link]
I bought this book (my first ebook purchase) after reading the review on DA. I still want to be entered into the contest, if I can give my winnings to my neighbor (not the chocolate—I’m keeping the chocolate).
My word—mans66
PeggyP said on 04.22.09 at 01:44 AM • [comment link]
Count me in - I’m way overdue for a really good story.
Melissandre said on 04.22.09 at 01:44 AM • [comment link]
This sounds very interesting. Count me in.
Samanthadelayed said on 04.22.09 at 01:44 AM • [comment link]
This book sounds really good. This is the second glowing review I have read in as many days!
kate a said on 04.22.09 at 01:55 AM • [comment link]
Sounds extremely interesting. Count me in
Elizabeth Wadsworth said on 04.22.09 at 02:01 AM • [comment link]
Is that the one with the guy who played Jonathan Creek? (name escapes me at the moment, but I love the guy!)
Jenny said on 04.22.09 at 02:27 AM • [comment link]
All that and Godiva too?
JBHunt said on 04.22.09 at 02:37 AM • [comment link]
Oh yes, please count me in!
Angie said on 04.22.09 at 02:47 AM • [comment link]
What a great review! Thanks for giving all of us a chance to win a copy.
MsJ said on 04.22.09 at 02:52 AM • [comment link]
OK, I’m a two-year lurker who’s posted only once before. But after reading Jane’s review and the buzz on other sites (including the fact that SB Sarah had praised this title), I pulled the site up tonight hoping I’d find a review. I can’t not read this book now. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Renee Somebody said on 04.22.09 at 02:59 AM • [comment link]
Interesting. I’m a bi girl who falls in love with a person, not their plumbing; this is not something you see much of in romance. It’s not the same, really, but it’s nice to hear well-written stories about the potential fluidity of sexuality exist. I’d love to read this.
ms bookjunkie said on 04.22.09 at 03:10 AM • [comment link]
Dammit, I already bought it at MBaM! That’ll teach me to actually read to the end of the review and not only look at the SBTB & DA grades. *eye roll*
Crystin said on 04.22.09 at 03:16 AM • [comment link]
I would love the opportunity to read this book.
Lorene said on 04.22.09 at 03:21 AM • [comment link]
This sounds interesting. I would like to read it. Put my name in the hat!
sarah said on 04.22.09 at 03:24 AM • [comment link]
I love the feel of a book in my hand, readable in bed, no electronics needed. However…your review of this book may make me crawl in to my bed with my eeepc, reading Butterfly Tattoo. :)
Sabrina said on 04.22.09 at 03:39 AM • [comment link]
I’ve been going back and forth on this book , this review make sth edecision much easier, it sounds great!
Tae said on 04.22.09 at 03:42 AM • [comment link]
yay it’s in ebook format! I can easily buy these for my Sony in Korea.
Put me in for the drawing, if I don’t win, I’ll buy a copy.
Kristen Marie said on 04.22.09 at 03:52 AM • [comment link]
Really, ebooks don’t qualify as books worthy enough for award consideration?
Oh well, I’ll still read it.
Jul N said on 04.22.09 at 04:06 AM • [comment link]
My interest was piqued when I saw Dear Author review this and I was already letting my friends know about it. Am seriously considering getting a copy now!
Samantha said on 04.22.09 at 04:08 AM • [comment link]
Great review, sounds intriguing. I’m in!
spackle said on 04.22.09 at 04:11 AM • [comment link]
Sounds pretty interesting. Count me in!
Wendy said on 04.22.09 at 04:13 AM • [comment link]
Sounds both unusual and well-written, a great combo.
Jennie-Ann said on 04.22.09 at 04:21 AM • [comment link]
Normally, the first person would be a deal-breaker for me, but I’ve got the sample loaded in another tab based on your rec.
Saam said on 04.22.09 at 04:26 AM • [comment link]
This sounds really interesting. I love reading stuff that pushes the boundaries & changes your views. Pick me!
NancyB said on 04.22.09 at 04:27 AM • [comment link]
Count me among the intrigued as well.
BethC said on 04.22.09 at 04:32 AM • [comment link]
Without this review, I would never have known about this book. I’m going to have to check it out.
GrowlyCub said on 04.22.09 at 04:38 AM • [comment link]
Elizabeth,
yes, he played ‘Jonathan Creek’. His name is Alan Davies (no relation to the director Russell T Davies).
I definitely recommend the series!
Suze said on 04.22.09 at 05:33 AM • [comment link]
Yes! I’d forgotten the title, but that was it. ROCK ‘N ROLLLLLLL!
Heh. Want72. Yes, I’m all about the wanting today.
Alix said on 04.22.09 at 06:18 AM • [comment link]
That sounds like a really great book. Put me down as a contestant, but I’m definitely going to put this on my “to read” list.
Sarah said on 04.22.09 at 06:29 AM • [comment link]
ohh, do i make the deadline?!
Nicole said on 04.22.09 at 06:29 AM • [comment link]
Both myself and my gay basement troll (read: tenant) are intrigued. I’m all over it!
Sarah said on 04.22.09 at 06:31 AM • [comment link]
Ok, sorry, the time stamps are incredibly messed up for me - I thought I was posting in the last minute of the contest, but for some reason it has the time difference by 3 hours… Anyway, the book looks great! I might have to buy it even if I don’t win!
Kaetrin said on 04.22.09 at 06:57 AM • [comment link]
Count me in please!
I already have it on my wishlist at Books on Board and your’s and DA’s grade just confirmed that I will be getting this book one way or another.
thanks for the review.
Ellen said on 04.22.09 at 07:10 AM • [comment link]
MBaM sent out an email with a description of this that I got tonight. It looks intriguing. Thanks for the review.
shirley said on 04.22.09 at 07:11 AM • [comment link]
This passage, more than the review itself, makes me want to read, “Butterfly Tattoo”. If the entire book says as much, as powerfully, with so few words… I’m going to need tissues and a bottle of wine :)
Carol said on 04.22.09 at 07:35 AM • [comment link]
I’m intrigued with the book, mainly from the review. If I don’t win, I’m definitely getting this. I may need to get my tissues ready first though.
JaneDrew said on 04.22.09 at 07:47 AM • [comment link]
This sounds fantastic! I’m so glad that I made it by the comment deadline!
In addition to the giveaway, can you provide sources?
Thanks!
JD
OH said on 04.22.09 at 08:41 AM • [comment link]
I’m glad I hit the comment deadline too.
Very interesting sounding.
larnsturt said on 04.22.09 at 08:46 AM • [comment link]
This sounds so good. I just might have to spring for this one.
Angel said on 04.22.09 at 09:51 AM • [comment link]
Damn. I think I just missed the deadline! Ah, no worries. I’m very happy to discover this book; the sense of brokenness and love and trying sounds like just the thing right now. And the complexity re: sexuality and relationships reminds me a bit of Russell T Davies’ “Bob and Rose,” which is GOOD STUFF.
Trix said on 05.06.09 at 12:47 PM • [comment link]
Well, I bought this, and unfortunately it bounced right off me. Great premise, nicely written (although, seriously, I don’t think the prose was exceptional) and good exploration of the issues (for both parties), but I couldn’t relate to either character. I also had no idea what they saw in each other.
Also, the [one] “tender explicit sex scenes”? Um, ok. (Not that I wanted lots of badadonkadonk necessarily, but Samhain’s blurb is a bit misleading there.
Anyway, I’m not straight, and I have a warped view of heterosexual romances, so I’ll just stick my B- grade somewhere (hm, look at the shape of that “B”) and get back to reading about Eve and Roarke.
fruitcakelibrarian said on 05.12.09 at 12:26 AM • [comment link]
Hi,
I am a Fiction Collection Librarian who loves romance.
I can’t figure out how to buy this for our library district. It’s not available on Amazon or through the vendors I work with.
Please help!
Alice aka fruitcakelibrarian
shirley said on 05.29.09 at 11:58 PM • [comment link]
Before I share my thoughts on “Butterfly Tattoo”, I have to apologize for taking so darn long. Those ‘average days’ have a way of biting one in the arse, so to speak ;)
Truth be told, I’m exceptionally thankful for the average days that kept “Butterfly Tattoo” at the top of my TBR until this last week because I think if I’d read it earlier, parts of this wonderful, horrible, amazing, dark, joyous, crushing, beautiful book might not have moved me as deeply and hopefully as they did.
Onto my ‘review’, *g*.
“Open up your heart and see where it leads.”
These words of advice, and love, offered by Alex Richardson to Michael Warner early in their relationship are truly the spine of this tale. For me, Ms. Knight’s story, in the end, had only a passing dalliance with relationships, sexuality, or even the points at the heart of the novel, life and death and living. As I read the last sentence in “Butterfly Tattoo”, that single line about open hearts, above all others, resonated with me as the point of the whole book. That an open, honest heart can save, restore, and guide more truly than anything else on this earth.
Michael is hurting, lost, alone, angry, all those emotions we feel when someone we love, we adore, is torn from us without warning. He’s floundering in a world that seems so utterly wrong without Alex (his soul mate, best friend, and lover for more than a decade). With Alex gone, Michael is trying, struggling furiously in fact, to find his way to the light of living. Not so much for himself, but for his daughter, Alex’s daughter, Andrea. His precious baby is snared, perhaps more deeply than any, in a tide of grief and isolation, unable to free her tiny body from the undertow. And despite the support of family, friends, counselors, etc. neither Michael nor Andrea are having much luck allowing life back inside their hearts.
Then a chance electrical short brings a wounded, and broken, Rebecca O’Neill into Michael and Andrea’s lives. Oh, on the outside Rebecca seems to moving forward, the scars from her tragic assault have faded and she’s still in the Hollywood business, still wheeling and dealing. She’s simply out of limelight. Except she hasn’t just given up her dream of acting, she hides away from light, from life, going only as far as necessary to get what needs doing done before retreating once more into the dark. But tiny Andrea, who
bears silvery scars of her own, reaches out to Rebecca and Rebecca can’t stop herself from reaching back. Except with the reaching comes the gripping of fingers, then hands, and arms, and bodies and soon, Rebecca finds herself in a tangle of fear and uncertainty, of love and hope.
And that’s where the book starts, ends, and flows through the middle.
I’m exceptionally glad that I read this book. There are so many things going on, so much minutia, ’subtext’ as it were, that I really felt as if I were reading non-fiction at some points. The characters, the situations, so real and true to life that as a reader, I couldn’t help but laugh when they laughed, be angry when they were angry, cry (okay at a couple of points nearly sob) when they were hurt and aching.
And at the end, I knew that all the hearts wound so close in the novel were open and following loves lead. And that’s about the happiest ending anyone can possibly want, if you ask me.
caligi said on 06.15.09 at 06:27 AM • [comment link]
Thanks for recommending this! It was a truly wonderful read that I never would have found on my own.
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