The Butterfly House

Synopsis: Bobbie Lee does not have a favorable childhood. Most of the time, she feels lost and alone. This forces her to find ways to seek refuge. Eventually, she finds this escape in her best friend, Cincy Jaines.

Cincy and her mother, Lenora, automatically accepts Bobbie as family, in their house in Rockhaven. Over time, these three women has managed to form an unbreakable bond. But in one fatal night, this magical house --"the butterfly house"-- becomes a place of tragedy, that will separate the three of them and change their lives forever.
Ten years later, Bobbie, still troubled by the tragedy, is surprised by an unexpected visitor. This immediately brings back the shadows of her past, haunting her again. She is then forced to face the truth, and to go back to the night she has been running from all these years.

Review: Let me start with some of the good points.
The poetic and engrossing prose is something worthy of a good review. The pace was just right, and the flow of words were effortless. Also, every chapter that was included was important -- not too much information, but enough back story to help the readers learn more. As for the characters, I thought they were well-developed, well-defined, and believable. It was easy to relate to them, and feel for them and their situations. The truth is, I feel as if without these complex and genuine characters, this would just be a pretty 'blah' plot -- one without much substance. This now leads me to the bad points.
Personally, I thought that the actual story itself, even with its twists and 'secrets,' wasn't anything special. The plot, also, has been done many times before, and didn't offer anything new to the table. It didn't "wow" me in any way whatsoever. In fact, instead of "wow-ing" me, I felt let down by it.
As for the ending.... well, let's just say it was what made up my mind and made me say, "This book is not good at all.." The conclusion was rushed and anti-climactic. This of course, left me disappointed.

I know I'm making it sound like it's such a bad book, which probably isn't fair, because it wasn't that bad. Like I said, there are some strong points. For one, it is entertaining. At times, it was even thought-provoking. It does have its moments. Unfortunately, these moments were just not good enough. To be honest, if I haven't picked this book up or read it at all, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. I'd still forget about it in a couple of weeks. But that's just me.