Review: My Butterflies by B. Evans

An engrossing first novel in a new romance series, My Butterflies by B. Evans follows the slow-burn love story between Tessa and Jax, compelled like a magnet to be together, but circumstances keep them apart, while each has a past marked by grief.

Tessa has been on her university campus for a whole year already, but she has mostly kept to herself, but then she meets Jax. They have a lot in common, such as their love for rock music, but there is also something else that pushes them towards each other – an unbridled physical attraction, an unfathomable chemistry that even they struggle to explain. The proverbial butterflies in the stomach are an unmistakable sign of attraction, the clear reminder that mind, body, and heart are all connected.

Years of loneliness melt away as soon as Tessa lays her eyes on the gorgeous, tall man who sings in her friend Chuck’s local rock band, and who seems to be ogling her right back. However, it doesn’t take long to find out that Jax is already involved in a fiery relationship with Brooke, a talented young woman on campus. Despite Brooke’s jealousy and strict control over her man, neither Jax nor Tessa manage to curb their growing mutual attraction, even if they can only be friends for the moment. But there are lingering questions: is Jax’s relationship with Brooke as passionate as it looks? And is Tessa really destined to only date men who don’t give her butterflies?

Examining the complex feelings of desire, love, and pain, this is a stirring new adult novel, fluidly written from dual perspectives. Alternating between Tessa’s and Jax’s points of view, the parallel storylines give the reader intimate access into the undercurrent of passion and desire that shapes their relationship, as well as the struggles that have formed them as people. Despite not telling each other outright at first, Tessa and Jax can immediately sense that they both have suffered – an instinctual knowledge that deepens their connection even further, and raises difficult topics such as abuse, addiction, and loss. As readers, we get to see the roots of their deep connection before the couple themselves, which makes the reader even more eager for the couple to get together, while also understanding them as three-dimensional people, and not just pawns in a fairy tale story.

Unlike other works of romance, the book also avoids reaching easy, moralistic conclusions about the characters – Jax’s relationship with Brooke, for example, can be defined as toxic, and Brooke’s behavior is less than fair towards her partner on several occasions, but she is never painted flatly as a negative character whose only purpose is being an antagonist. Evans has created each character with their own flaws, sorrows, and desires, making the jigsaw between Brooke, Jax, and Tessa all the more complex, but also more true.

Fresh, gripping, and passionate, this first installment in the Butterflies series is an unforgettable love story that will make readers eager for the next book in the series, as Evans masterfully combines the pathos of raw, authentic emotion with the pure strength of physical connection, resulting in a riveting and true-to-life portrayal of love and desire.