Saturday, June 18, 2016

Butterfly Palace

GIVEAWAY

COBLE, COLLEEN
BUTTERFLY PALACE

Elegance and wealth. Privilege and politics. The extravagance of Butterfly Palace overwhelmed Lily's senses and nearly smothered her painful memories. She pushed away her misgivings...she was perfectly safe in this huge house.

Austin, Texas 1904. Abandoned by the love of her life and still mourning the loss of her mother, Lily Donaldson has turned her back on the pain and come to Austin for a fresh start, working for the Marshall family as a kitchen maid in their luxurious mansion. The tasks before her are legion, and her mistress less than pleasant, but at least Lily's new life will be, if nothing else, distracting.

Then one night, while serving at a dinner party, Lily recognizes the man who abandoned her -- Andy, her liaison from the livery stable, the blacksmith's son -- sitting among the distinguished guests. Though he recognizes her, Andy does not acknowledge her aloud, and Lily is left reeling, flabbergasted, and irate.

But before she can get an explanation, the path of the Servant Girl Killer swerves very close to Butterfly Palalce, sowing terror among the maids. Having come to Austin to start anew, Lily suddenly feels trapped in a spider web. How can she know who to trust in a house where lies come dressed in fine suits and deceit in silk gowns the colors of butterfly wings?

My Review:

Colleen Coble is a master story weaver and she does it again with this intriguing upstairs/downstairs romantic suspense. An intricate plot features a bevy of sinister activities including a serial killer and political intrigue! And poor Lily finds herself enmeshed in it all. This small town girl gets way more than she bargained for when she moves to the city -- including laying eyes on the fiancĂ© who deserted her. And she can't understand why he has changed his name and is moving in social circles far above his lowly station. Suspense is even intertwined in the romance!

Told from multiple points of view, I was especially intrigued by Belle's story. Pampered and spoiled and coldly conniving, she clashes with Lily at every turn. But circumstances work to soften Belle's hard edges during the course of the novel and I am hoping she will get her own story in the near future.

A lighter faith thread about being refined by struggles weaves some seemingly diverse threads together beautifully. It's amazing how Coble was able to tie up so many loose ends in such a complex plot. I had some things figured out and was feeling quite smug until she surprised me!

Murder, mayhem and romance at the turn of the century makes for an engrossing read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  Butterfly Palace please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday June 19 2016. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

34 comments:

  1. Coble is a wonderful storyteller, especially when it comes to mysteries!
    pocoauthorATgmailDOTcom

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    1. She's the queen of mystery. Good luck, Nicole.

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  2. I would love to try one of Coble's books! :)
    rosebudsinjune at gmail dot com

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  3. I've only read one of Colleen's present-day books, but this one sounds fabulous too! mylittlebirdie (at) yahoo (dot) com

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    1. She's a versatile author -- able to write both historical and contemporary. Good luck, Karen.

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  4. Sounds intriguing, Kav. Count me in! :)

    ckbarker at gmail dot com

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  5. Another good author. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom.

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  6. I've been wanting to read a book by Colleen Coble for some time now... All of her books sound so amazing!
    I would love to win this one ;)

    samanthabis23 at gmail dot com

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    1. She has a huge number of books out -- lots of catching up to do. Good luck, Samantha.

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  7. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Colleen Coble!!!! Such incredible stories. Kav, thank you for the chance to win.
    psalm103and138 at gmail dot com

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  8. I do enjoy Colleen Coble's books and this one sounds especially intriguing. Love a good mystery and she does them so well!
    Thanks for the review.
    pwestfall7 at hotmail dot com

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    1. Me too. And the blend of historical/mystery is always great. Good luck, Pam.

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  9. Colleen Coble is such a wonderful writer. Thank you for sharing one of her great stories, Kav!

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  10. O, I love Colleen Coble after the Mermaid Moon! Would love to read this! Thanks!

    justcommonlyATgmailDOTcom

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  11. A butterfly palace sounds so beautiful!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

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    1. Beautiful and creepy. Good luck, rubynreba.

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  12. I'm a Colleen Coble fan and I haven't read this book yet but the combination of Suspense and the turn of the century storyline is sure to be a winner. Thank you for the great giveaway!
    dblaser(at)windstream(dot)net

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  13. Colleen is another of my "favorite" authors & I've not read as many of her books as I'd like to! Like you Kav, I think I have much too long of a list of to-reads...haha!

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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    1. I think we need a to-read list just for Colleen Coble. LOL Good luck, Trixi.

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  14. You definitely can not go wrong with a Colleen Coble book. This is on my to read list.

    Cnnamongirl at aol dot com

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    1. You're right about that. Good luck, Deanne.

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  15. My sister owns nearly all of Colleen Coble's books! She'll definitely want this one!
    J.C. -Indiana-

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  17. I agree that Colleen is a masterful story teller! Love her books & can't wait to read this one! Thanks for the review! Becky lelandandbecky at reagan dot com

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  18. What a suspenseful sounding story, I would love to win it! Beck adult4becky AT aol DOT com

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  19. What a suspenseful sounding story, I would love to win it! Beck adult4becky AT aol DOT com

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