CHASING BUTTERFLIES
Standalone
Genre: NA Romance, Second Chance Romance
Author: Terri E. Laine
Release Date: June 2, 2016
USA Today Bestselling Author, Terri E. Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field.
One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything.
Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have…
Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices.
When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy.
College is a different game, a second chance for something better.
She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget.
He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback — the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero.
Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that with anyone else.”
“Felt what? Butterflies?”
“If that’s what they call it. You’ve got me chasing them.”
Wow. Before I get to my review, let me say this. Don’t let my rating fool you. This book had me riveted to the story from beginning to finish. Aside from a few quibbles that I had, the story itself was beautiful. It drew me in from the very first chapter and kept me glued to the pages. The author clearly has an incredible talent and I strongly believe she has great things ahead of her. While this may not have been a full four star read for me, it was a damn solid 3 and I’ll get to my reasons why shortly.
Kelley Moore has grown up in a way that no boy should ever have to endure. From a volatile home life to numerous tragedies throughout his life, he’s never had it easy. He dreams of making it big in football and making it out on his own.
Lenora Wells may not have had the tragic life that Kelley has, but doesn’t live an ideal one either. At the instance of her parents for the good of a potential business deal, Lenora allows them to convince her to date the most popular boy in school. But the boy that gives her butterflies isn’t her seemingly too good to be true boyfriend, but the boy from the wrong side of the tracks with the beautifully unusual eyes.
What starts as stolen encounters soon turns into something more only to shatter before their eyes and leave both of them grasping at the jagged pieces.
Chasing Butterflies is told in two parts: past (high school) and present (college). The first half is almost 60% of the story and so emotionally gripping I forgot at times that I’m reading about teenagers. I’m not typically a fan of YA but yet something about these characters simply stood out for me.
Admittedly there was a few minor issues I had with the writing; odd transitions (one chapter being told in Lenny’s POV and the next chapter jumps back a day or a few hours and retold in Kelley’s). There was a lack of clear transitions between these scenes at times, that while it wasn’t confusing, it did stand out enough to take me out of the story a bit. There were also some odd phrases like …my brain shorted and some strange analogies that stuck out to me as well..
But even those few issues aside, the story was so strong that it was easy to overlook it. Ultimately what made me lower my rating was the second part of the book that’s told in present. While their high school years have strong development and spans over half the book, I had hoped that their college years would bring the same, but alas it didn’t. I wanted that sizzle of a second chance romance, and I didn’t get that. It felt almost rushed. There were also some (redundant) choices made by the characters that left me scratching my head. And as much as I hate to use the term cliche, there were quite a few scenarios of it present in the last half. I liked Lenny in the beginning even though some of her decisions and choices frustrated me. While I can understand why she did what she did when she’s older, I still feel like she regressed a bit as a character. I wanted her to find her inner strength and that didn’t happen until pretty much the last pages. I suppose I just wanted that sooner.
But here’s the thing; even with the aforementioned, this is still a book I would definitely recommend to any lovers of NA romance. The author spins a tale that’s tragic and beautiful that even managed to bring a tear to my eye on more than one occasion. The story is well developed, the characters are multi-layered, and it’s certainly not a book I’ll be forgetting any time soon. So if that blurb intrigues you, read it. One thing guaranteed; it will keep you up all night reading. I definitely look forward to any future releases this author has in store.
Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age.
Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.
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