Title: Giving Me Butterflies
Author: Katy Michele
Publisher: Midnight Moon Publishing
ISBN: 979-8218181383
eBook ISBN: 978-1088052808
Genre: Romance, Drama
Availability: Paperback or eBook
Language: English
Paperback: 308 pages
Item Weight: 1 pound Dimensions:
6 x 0.69 x 9 inches
Review:
A lonely teacher searching for more meets a combative, yet charming bartender in Katy Michele’s romantic slice-of-life, Giving Me Butterflies.
The story introduces us to our heroine, Drew Thomas, who we find in her bed post-coitus, with her ex-boyfriend and high school sweetheart, Reed Michaels. Despite her romantic involvement with someone who doesn’t exactly inspire feelings of love in our heroine, Drew struggles to separate herself from her boyfriend due to the creeping loneliness haunting the corners of her mind.
We then meet our deuteragonist, Emmett Ryan, the brooding, antagonistic bartender who lives below Drew in their apartment building. Despite his neighbor’s morning antics becoming an annoying unwanted alarm clock, he can’t help but enjoy the rush he gets when he flusters her, only to become even more flustered when he realizes he thinks about her far more than he should.
This doesn’t stop Emmett from being prickly toward Drew whenever they interact, due to her morning cacophony causing him grief day in and day out. However, all of this changes when a tragic event shakes up both of their lives.
As someone who enjoys the enemies-to-lovers dynamic, the two leads in Giving Me Butterflies deliver this common trope without feeling clichéd. The characters have valid reasons for disliking each other.
From Drew’s never-ending chaos intruding into Emmett’s life, to Emmett acting a jerk in retaliation for Drew’s chaotic mornings, their chemistry is undeniable, leaving the duo hot and bothered. In Emmett’s case, hot. while leaving Drew more bothered than hot.
The chemistry is relentless, in addition to a terrible event that inevitably creates a bond between the bickering duo.
I also want to give special mention to the tragedy that acts as the catalyst that ignites the plot. While the subject matter is uncomfortable, I thought it was tastefully handled and the subsequent trauma and fallout was well written.
Continuing the interaction between the two main characters feels natural and their relationship progresses at a fast but still believable pace, especially due to the harrowing circumstances that drives Drew early in the story.
The two feel like human beings, with both of them tackling and stumbling through the darkness of their own despairing emotions while dealing with innumerable external forces. I enjoyed the banter between Drew and Emmit, much of it is relatable references to movies, books, and especially music.
But most of all, the biggest plus to this novel is that it shows that people are like gems. They have facets to them and some of these facets only get exposed within certain relationships and situations. And in this example, that revealed a facet turning two neighbors who were at odds with each other into matching stones.
Giving Me Butterflies is a POV novel that often switches between Drew and Emmett, and as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy POV novels, I thought this one was done very well.
There are also some steamy moments within the novel that I feel were handled well. The central characters and side characters felt fully developed, like real people living in the real world.
Romance lovers will enjoy and is a worthy addition to any physical or digital bookcase. Giving Me Butterflies earns a strong recommendation from me. ★★★★★ – Elijah B. (Explore Authors Magazine)