Butterfly Unpinned

by Bonnie Dee, Laura Bacchi

Slavery was her refuge now it s time to fly free.

Navajo woodworker Bryan Lapahie can t believe his luck. He s been hired to create sculptures for a wealthy photographer s wildly opulent mansion. Once inside, he finds his new boss is a man of many possessions and an appetite for BDSM so extreme it makes Bryan s own Dominant tendencies look tame.

Of the four submissives enslaved at the mansion, it is quiet Butterfly who captures his interest. Her vulnerable beauty stirs his fantasies and awakens his protective instincts.

Butterfly wanted only two to feel protected, and to satisfy her craving for hardcore kink. She found both with the wrong guy. She d almost forgotten how to be a normal person until a man with flowing dark hair enters the mansion. Suddenly, her safe haven is looking more and more like a prison, and all she can think about is breaking free with Bryan.

To rescue her, Bryan is more than willing to lay everything on the line. But simply walking away isn t as easy as it seems "

Genres: BDSM, Erotica, Romance, Erotic Romance, Dark, Adult, Contemporary

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2009

About the author

I began telling stories as a child. Whenever there was a sleepover, I was the designated ghost tale teller. I still have a story printed on yellow legal paper in second grade about a ghost, a witch and a talking cat.

I enjoy dabbling in many genres. Whether you're a fan of contemporary historical or fantasy romance, you'll find something to enjoy among my books. I'm interested in flawed, often damaged, people who find the fulfillment they seek in one another. To stay informed about new releases, please sign up for my newsletter. You can join my street team at FB. Learn more about my backlist at http://bonniedee.com and find me on FB and Twitter @Bonnie_Dee.

Reviews

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterfly is a 24/7 slave to a Master who is not bad but not great. Gary keeps 4 women in his sex slave harem. (As any good Chinese person will tell you, 4 is a bad and ominous number.) There are no safe words and the play is according to Gary never harming, just hurting. Right, I call bullshit on this and would like to point out creative writer's license. One of the scenes, I'd be hard press to ever condone, unless my goal was to cause permanent injury and possible death. But hey, to each his own. Butterfly is a obsequious submissive for 5 years to Gary. He found her, confused and on a downward spiral. She cut herself as a way to help her deal with her perfectionist tendencies and pressures. Living and breathing was overwhelming to her.

Here is where I stopped. I had to push myself through the rest of the book because already, I loathe the premise. Because of course, only a fucked up overachiever with mommy issues would be into BDSM. Lovely, another one of these books which just plays into the stereotype and puts me on edge. Edge in a bad way, not edgeplay or edging which are good for me.

Fortunately, after forcing myself through the next few chapters, we come to the real meat of the story - Bryan and Butterfly's relationship. This I enjoyed as I learned more about Bryan's Dine history. I enjoyed watching Butterfly become unpinned in Bryan's gentle loving. Sure the metaphors used in this story were cliche. "Lessons" such as the butterfly helped out of a cocoon were a bit trite. The part I liked was the healing journey for Butterfly. While Bryan played the white knight and he's enamoured of this role for himself, he's not flawless. Instead, his white knight syndrome is a weakness and flaw for him at times. I found this to be appealing.

[Michael Dunellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why someone wrote a synopsis for the book without reading it, but that seems to be what happened because what that says barely resembles the book.

When Bryan first arrives at the mansion, he knows about as much about BDSM as Anastasia Steele did when she was interviewing Christian Grey in his office. He was trying to figure out how Gary got four attractive women to pose nude for the photos he was working from. The only reason he started trying to figure out if he had dominant tendencies was because it was the only way he could think of to lure Butterfly away.

This was a really a Soul Mate situation - Bryan and Butterfly began to obsess over each other from the moment they met. Just his presence in the house made her question the slavery she thought she had always wanted. And early on, I had some thought that Gary would just let her go.

After all, it was obvious he didn't love her and never had. He may have helped her deal with some of the stresses of life but the fact that he let her quit college in her final semester so she wouldn't get her degree and that he just replaced her Cutting habit with a level of Agoraphobia that ensured she could never escape him on her own. But I really think the reason he hired Bryan when he did - the fact that he finally had four slaves so he could have his fancy wood-carving done - was all he really cared about.

And Gary broke the single most important Cardinal Rule for me when he left Sapphire alone bound in the dungeon. I don't blame Brian for not doing anything, but it proved that Gary was never going to be worthy of anyone's trust. As he proved when he attempted to influence the outcome of the wager. And the way he quoted chapter & verse from the philosophy of John Norman proved that he lived in a very scary fantasy.

"She goes with me. Now!" - one of my favorite movie moments was in Scent of a Woman when Al Pacino says "I'd like to take a flamethrower to this place!" This reminded me of that.

I don't want to give away much about the second half, other than it was almost a separate story. Too often in these total power exchange situations I spend a lot of time thinking how the real world never intrudes. The second half is about life and death and family and redemption and was a great ending to the book.

"Once you realize how strong you are, will you still need me?"

"Maybe not," she whispered.

There was a complete story here that won't disappoint, but this is another one that actually has enough material for a sequel if they wanted to write one at some point.

[Praj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh sweet Lord! I yawned right in the midst of a sexual symphony as Butterfly (a sex-slave not the holometabola insect) orgasms to Bryan’s remarkably hassled thrusts. I yawned till tears trickled down my cheeks and I wasn’t even lethargic. Have I reached my erotica immunity? I am fairly acquainted with my whoring of BDSM novels and the relishing contribution of a riotously inexhaustible imagination. But, this involuntary somnolent mouth activity is ferociously haunting my libido. What will I do on those lazy afternoons when machinery fails me? Do I have to channel my excitement through the food network? Nigella Lawson does entice the senses at times with her gooey chocolate cakes and butterscotch sauces. Why God? Why?

Gary and his clique of four lusciously curved submissives were incredibly enticing. Initially amidst the whimpering of ecstasies, blood gushed through my tethering veins as Jasmine was punished for her misdemeanors. The liberation of Butterfly from a fearful sub to a loveable partner of the Navajo carpenter (Bryan) was alluring, although I am not a huge romance fan. I must say, it was quite a tedious job to free herself from her possessive Master. Yet, through the rendered blowjobs services, whippings and ruffled pleasures, I merrily munched on a pack of crisps rather than devouring a sauvignon Blanc. When Butterfly moans or wiggles beneath pushing her bottom towards Bryan’s muscular legs, why doesn’t it make me cross my legs. Why is this misery bestowed upon my irresistible soul?
Butterfly a.k.a Sylvia tries to reach her parents, Bryan’s closeness to grandmother.....**Yawns***....Sylvia’s budding romantic overtures....**Yawns***....Jeez! I seem to be getting a bit drowsy.

Eureka! Eureka! The source of my recurring yawns! Too much of emotional hullabaloo overshadowing sinister actions. I feel like Archimedes, except the running naked part(too many laws sanctioned for that crap).If it were not for the hard-core sexual masochist actions this would be a sugary Hallmark movie with white horses running in a clover field. The trepidation is over and I see sunlight once again! Now, let me take a peek at the Amazon shopping cart.

[La-Lionne · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

- First half of the story -
(WARNING SPOILERS)

I liked the begging of the story. I got the impression that it will be dark, twisted and maybe emotional. I got the same impression from the book description, too.
I was loving the story the first few chapters. Which were about a woman who is either being kept as a slave or is there willingly as a slave. It was hard to tell. She have been living with her master for 5 years. She kept saying she's there because she wanted to be, needed, but after few conversations between her master and some of his buddies, I though "He really did a number on her". Who would want that? He treated them like they weren't even human, but some disgusting creatures who are good for only one thing. And yes, she didn't like the thing he did, most of the time she was scared out of her mind to make a wrong step, because of the punishment that would fallow. Still, she kept saying she needed this. Everytime he was with her, he made sure to remind her that he helped/saved her, that no one forced her to come to him.
Later, you find out that the reason she is there is because of her parents. Apparently she got tired of never reaching their expectations, never being good enough. She wanted to be free. That should have been the first warning to drop the book, but I still had no clue where the story was heading, so I kept reading.

Her master is one mean MF. His punishment are absolutely brutal. There was a scene where he punished one of the girls for lying to him. I literally wanted to trow up. And the girls reaction afterwards just broke my heart. How can you possibly want that, I thought? And then it came to me. Those girls were so far gone in their heads, that they didn't even realized that line between fun&games and abuse, have been crossed looooong time ago. He have shaped them exactly the way he wanted them to be.

So, while all this abuse going on in his mansion, there is a guy working there. He have been hired to make their sculptures. He sees those girls wondering around, bringing him food and drinks, always half naked. Before he started this job, he got an email from this "master" guy, explaining to him "the slave situation". As he worked there, day in and they out, making sculptures, he developed feelings for one of the girls. He starts thinking about saving her, because he senses that what is going on is not alright. The problem is, the master is not about to let her just walk away, after all this work he put into her. Here, I thought that the story is going to be amazing. I imagined him struggling to find a way to get her out of there, maybe her master finding out about his plans and making his and hers lifes a living hell. Even if they manage to escape, the master won't rest until he hunts them down. That's not what happen at all.

In the book description it says:

"To rescue her, Bryan is more than willing to lay everything on the line. But simply walking away isn’t as easy as it seems…"

Sure it is! Ask the very same Bryan!

But before I get to the "easy" part... Master finds out about Bryan's feeling for his butterfly and gets pissed. They make a bet. Bryan offers all his money to him in order to buy her out. He doesn't have a lot, but it's all he has. They both agree that after one week, the butterfly will make decision herself, if she wants to leave or stay. At this point, master-dude feeling full of him self, is sure that she will never leave because he did a brilliant job at mind-screwing her.
One week passes by, decision time. Of course butterfly says she wants to leave. To make it more difficult on them, master takes his girls to the dungeon, ties them to the wall, with the masks covering their faces, lines up his buddies and orders them to start whipping the girls. There is a lot of screaming and crying going on. I got the drama part of it, but I didn't get how it's suppose to be difficult for him to pick her out.
So, he walks by, cups her and asks if she want to leave with him. She says yes and they leave. The master is pissed, threatening him, telling him that he will make sure that Bryan will never be able to get a job, not only in this city, but in the whole state. Sucks, because he is broke as it is.

- Second half of the story -

At this point I thought "Here we go! Let the hunt begin!". But the story took completely different direction and made less and less sense, with every page I turned.

I think it's important to mention that butterfly has a phobia of open spaces, she never goes outside.
They run out, get in to his car and ride into the sunset. Story should have ended here, because what followed, made no f-ing sense.

The rest of the story became about how good she was at cooking and cleaning. Then there was all this big thing about his grandfather dying, his mother being a drag addict. He decides to take a 9h trip back home, to say goodby to his grandfather. Butterfly faints completely into the background. Even though half of the story is still told from hers pov, it's sooo boring. She is cooking for him, cleaning, talking to his dog... On the way to his birthplace there is a lot of talk about his culture, the language they speak, him stressing about her not liking the place, because his ex didn't. It really felt like it took nine hours to read it just about their trip alone.
They get there. The grandfather dies, so there is all this fuss about how sad they are, funeral arrangements and so on. Butterfly is cooking and cleaning again, and babysitting his cousins kids.

"You are doing fine. Cooking and cleaning are important. Besides, you have that rabbit to take care of."


Bryan doing plumbing and work around the house. They go camping (phobia?). He does her ones in the back of the truck and the next time pushed her agains some rock. She is all "Oh, it's so good. Do me like this and do me like that". And he is all "I'll do you like this and I'll do you like that.". I didn't get it. From what I read, I wouldn't have given him the time of day.
In the meanwhile, she's thinking back to how it was with her master. He was rough and brutal and humiliated her in every way he could, she's glad she escaped. But, at the same time she's ashamed that the memory of the things he did to her arouses her. What the freaking fruit????
Then, there is more drama with his momma. She offered some happy pills to her, Bryan gets all pissy.
Oh, and there is a baby rabbit that Bryan's dog dragged in one day, that butterfly is taking care of. The furry thing dies, too. Now Bryan has a dilemma. Where to burry the damn thing that dog won't be able to dig it out and bring it back to Butterfly. OMG!!!


At the end they get married (whatever!).
- Her master never showed up with his army of perverts to kidnap her back (which made me thing that the drama at the beginning of the story was completely unnecessary and misleading).
- Bryan is still poor, no job, no money, no plan for the future.
- No info about the girls left behind in the hands of the abuser.
- Butterfly gets unpinned by cooking, cleaning, babysitting and taking care of the rabbit.
- Out of the blue, on the last page, she calls her mother "Hi mom, It's me.". Grudge forgotten?

The whole story was just a mess.

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars | Grade: A-
(Note: Don't think the GR book summary does justice to the story)

“Sometimes a transition requires struggle. Remember the butterfly?”

How could he forget? As a child, he’d found a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. He’d tried to help it by prying open the husk to set the insect free. It had lain in the sun, beating its wings as they dried, but had never flown and soon died. His grandmother explained the butterfly needed to go through the difficulty of freeing itself in order to have the strength to fly.(p124)

Butterfly Unpinned is about a submissive (seriously submissive!) young woman named Butterfly, who is “freed” from her submission by a talented Native American sculptor named Bryan. They meet when he’s working on pieces commissioned by her “Master.” Once they leave together, Butterfly has to acclimate herself to the outside world again, begin to reclaim her former identity of Sylvia, and decide who she is and wants to be now. Butterfly / Sylvia and Bryan are very interesting characters; I loved their relationship and watching it develop. I wish the story was longer, because the ending felt very rushed and I thought we would follow them further in their relationship.

{ Reaction }
This is a very unusual and very powerful story. It is also one that I find hard to categorize: the heavy focus on the self-healing process makes it more general fiction and I think some mainstream audiences would enjoy it, however there are definite erotica components. While it’s described as a BDSM romance, that’s more because of the situation Butterfly is in at the beginning of the story than anything else. After she leaves Gary’s, Bryan decides they should abstain from sex completely, since he doesn’t want her to think she owes him sex or that he’s her new Master. Once they do start making love, there aren’t really any BDSM components.

Others have said this and I 100% agree: the first half was unbelievably disturbing. Utterly and completely disturbing. It was difficult and uncomfortable to read; I felt so absolutely helpless. “Master,” i.e. Gary, is a sadistic, cruel, and manipulative bastard and oh how happy I was when Bryan finally punched him. However, as much as I hated—completely abhorred!—reading that first section, it was also necessary and integral to the story. There is no way one could appreciate Butterfly’s transformation and what Bryan freed her from had we not been given such a vivid look at what her life had been like with Gary. The second half of the book is the most enjoyable, because that’s when we get to see Sylvia and Bryan’s romantic relationship really begin to develop.

{ Our Heroine }
The authors had a delicate line to walk when it came to Butterfly “becoming” Sylvia, but in my mind they achieve a perfect balance of having her transformation be slow enough to feel authentic, but fast enough to enable us to see development and not grow frustrated or impatient. The pace of it felt right. At the end of Butterfly Unpinned Sylvia is not 100%—which realistically, she shouldn’t be yet—however there is no doubt that she is on her way there.

I liked that while she relies heavily on Bryan and he is a key player in her recovery, there is no doubt that she is the major force in her own healing. There are times when she and Bryan are even briefly at odds and yet she perseveres and succeeds:

It was a good feeling, to beat her wings and find out they were strong enough to lift her and hold her aloft. (p176)

{ Our Hero }
From the beginning, Bryan is a fantastic hero and I loved his feelings towards and treatment of Butterfly. While he’s a strong, independent, sensual, and possessive hero, he at no times feels offensively alpha; the contrast between him and Gary further reinforces this impression. He is so sweet and tender with her, while also not treating her as if she is an untouchable and fragile piece of glass on display in a museum. He sees her as an individual—as her own person, her own woman—and wants to help her see herself that way too.

Bryan’s feelings for and actions towards Sylvia are truly lovely, but I appreciated that we are show he’s not perfect and has human failings like anyone else. As Sylvia becomes stronger and more independent, Bryan goes through his own internal conflict: he wanted to help Sylvia for altruistic reasons, but he also has feelings for her and likes the fact that he was able to play hero and save her. He wants to be the one who continues to protect her, the one she turns to when she needs help—and he wants her to still have that need:

She breathed slowly, searching for words. “You’ve set me free, and I can’t be caged again.”

He reached out and touched her hair lightly. The tension in his face relaxed a little, but his eyes were still intense. “I know that. I just want to protect you, to keep you from being hurt.” (p175)

{ Criticism }
My main criticism is the rushed ending, which I mentioned at the beginning. It left me feeling like the brakes were put on all of a sudden and I hadn’t been expecting them yet. Also, part of Bryan’s development in the first half is his self-reflection on his own desires that arise from observing Master’s “setup.” He questions what he does or does not—and should or should not—find arousing. I found this interesting both for his character and the story, but the subject was dropped in the second half and there was no further development.

{ Bottom Line }
It was utterly wonderful and one of those reads I classify as a “hidden gem.” It’s a surprisingly powerful and emotional story. If it weren’t for some of the more explicit scenes that are clearly erotica, I would recommend this book to all my non-romance reading friends as well.

{ One of My Favorite Quotes }

“You’re a lot stronger than you know.”

She offered a weak smile and slipped behind the curtain and into the tiny puffs of steam filling the small space. The old shower was loud, so he felt safe in saying the rest of his thoughts before joining her.

“Once you realize how strong you are, will you still need me?”

He stepped into the warm water. She had her back against the tiles, her face in profile, her jaw somehow softer now.

“Maybe not,” she whispered.

His heart plummeted to his knees.

She faced him. Opened her arms to him.

“But I’ll want you,” she added. “I think I’ll always want you.”

“Jesus, you scared me.” And she had. The fear that she’d grow strong and leave him to explore her new self, her new world—without him—scared him shitless.

Some days I think I need you more than you need me. He couldn’t bring himself to admit that out loud. He wondered if she could sense it, tell by the way he crushed her body against his and breathed in the smell of her hair. [...]

Once he returned with the sheets and a blanket, she rolled off the bed and helped him with the bedding. Then he lay down and opened his arms to her. She climbed into his embrace.

Bryan stayed awake until he heard her breathing steadily.

“When you find your wings, don’t fly away,” he whispered. (p172)

Read my review on the Fiction Vixen website.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butterfly Unpinned was one of those books that had sat on my TBR pile for ages, one that I really wanted to read, but just didn't have the time. Then on a "Pick It For Me" Challenge it was one of the books chosen. I was excited to *finally* get to read it!

Butterfly said she was a slave by her own choice, an escape from the real world that she couldn't function in. She is taken to a beautiful Mansion by Gary who becomes her Master. Her sole provider, the man that gives and the man that takes, and takes and takes.

The living conditions may look beautiful and welcoming on the surface, but there is a dark and twisted world within the walls.



Butterfly is happy. She doesn't need, or want, the outside world, she doesn't like the open spaces, or people. Those things will send her into a panic attack. She is happiest doing nothing but serving Gary, not ever leaving the house. Cocooned in her idea of "safety".



Gary uses those fears against her when she needs to be punished. Putting her outside in the open, making her play her piano while people watch. Lucky for Butterfly, this doesn't happen very often since she is content with her life of serving her Master and making him happy.... and staying out of trouble.

Then Bryan shows up to do some wood carving for Gary. The first time they lay eyes on each other, it's as if the world tips on it's axis.. for both of them.

Butterfly begins to question herself and her servitude to Gary. Bryan just wants to take her out of there. Unpin the beautiful butterfly and make her his alone.



The BDSM in this book, while at some points being extreme, it does become something beautiful between two people. This was a sweet story once you got past the horrors of Gary.

The only thing that keeps this from being a 5 Star read for me was there was too much filler in the book, at about 75% i was ready for the story to get to the end. It did pick back up some. But I could have done without a lot of the over descriptiveness that surrounded the Grandfathers funeral, the traditions, his mother, etc.

But the book is still a solid 4 star read.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. But I couldn't bring myself to give it only 3 stars. The beginning was a little off-putting. Butterfly and the other "doves" are exposed to some downright cruel punishment at the hands of their "Master". But once you get into her relationship with Bryan, it really is quite sweet.

I loved how the relationship between Bryan and Butterfly builds layer by layer. The tension builds almost simultaneously between them. It was great that they didn't just jump straight into an intense sexual relationship. The author recognized that Butterfly was damaged and needed time. Bryan was patient and understanding, but still flawed. He didn't "alph-male" her to death. And he didn't have all the answers. So thet had to work on it together.

Now, the bad.....

The ending seemed a little rushed to me. I think we could have seen a little more progress with "Butterfly" reaching out to her parents. It was almost as if the author got tired of writing. Also, there were a parts that didn't lend to the progression of the story. It was almost like there was going to be an extension to the plot and then the authors changed their minds. I was expecting more of a conflict with Jasmine (?). It seemed to be building to that, then just sort of fell off a cliff.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. And I'd be open to more books by this author.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This story is set up with two distinct parts that revolve around the heroine's life. Often, these divisions in storytelling seem abrupt, forced and awkward, but in this case it works well. Butterfly/Sylvia has some serious issues regarding anxiety and self worth and the situation in which we meet her is extreme. The unidealized view of a M/s relationship is probably not going to appeal to several readers. While many of acts are told from a distant past tense summary point of view, there is one particular act that is quite graphic and will exceed many readers tolerance levels. It is not done salaciously, it is intrinsic to story, but nonetheless I feel it deserves comment as an FYI.

One aspect of the story I really enjoyed is the Native American protagonist. Nicely done. It's good to see diversity in literature and this in no way felt like pandering or stereotypical.

Primary reason I did not rate this higher is the heavy handed treatment of explaining/revealing the psychological motivations of the H/h.

[Steamywindows♥♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterfly has some elements of S&M which I am curious about, but don't particularly find inspiring. We are introduced to the heroine who is a woman who has chosen to live as a slave (Gor philosophy based)for the past five years. It becomes obvious that she made this choice from the context of a very dysfunctional and self destructive life to begin with, which explains why she willingly stayed in a demeaning situation as essentially an object. Is it plausible? I think so, is it representative of all slave master relationships? I don't believe so. I believe the story does explore that fine line of what is really consensual versus coerced or victimized. The romance of the story was interesting, but not as well developed as I would like due to the first half of the book's focus on the context of Butterfly's slavery. I really enjoyed the author's descriptions of the Bryan's Navajo heritage, and would have loved more.

[Stevi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars!!!

This was not a hard core BDSM/submission book... there were some parts in it that were harder/darker when Butterfly was with her Master, but after she got out I just fell in LOVE with her and Bryan!!!

I loved to see how Butterfly emerged from her cocoon and got stronger and braver every day with Bryan, they both needed each other soo much and made each other a better person.

Well be re-reading it in the future :)

[Anastasia Grazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book at first, but I was bored eventually, I skipped a lot. 3 stars for me

[Malika-Liki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. I loved how the authors described the simmering interest between the butterfly slave and the young artist. How it developed.
How he fought and gave all he had to set her free.
Her awakening, his family. Beautiful

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much more than I expected. It is an emotional, compelling, thought-provoking tale of love, hope, trust, forgiveness and self-worth. One that really sticks with the reader after finishing.

Butterfly's Master of five years was a very cruel and harsh man. There were a few parts that were challenging to read through, and made my stomach drop. But we needed an insight into the type of treatment Butterfly and the other slaves received from Gary to understand her later struggles. (He followed Gorean tenets and was extreme in his ownership of them.)

After our hero, Bryan, rescued Butterfly/Sylvia the tone of the story changed. Their growing love and affection for one another was heartwarming and sweet. Sylvia began to heal and gain confidence in herself while helping Bryan cope with a death in his family. Bryan was strong but tender with Sylvia as she began to tear down the walls of her past that hindered her personal growth. I appreciated the way Bryan was dominant without being over-the-top "alpha male", and when some of his flaws and shortcomings were shown to us, it made him seem all the more likable and real.

I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpses into his native culture, and therefore his mindset. Like his encouragement for her to grow back some pubic hair, so that she didn't seem plastic or doll-like. And the way he asked her to not freshen up first, so that she retained her female essence. I found that interesting and refreshing.

I wish we knew how much time had passed between the ending of the story and the epilogue. I must admit that I was left wishing to read more of their journey. But we see how they were meant for each other, and I felt like they would continue to nurture each other and be OK.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story. It came across more as a romance than erotica to me. Aside from the "unpinning", we saw very little kink in the first half of the book. Just lots of kneeling and lowered eyes. And the second half was mostly vanilla sex with a bit of bedroom kink thrown in. Not what I was expecting. The piano scene was the most unique scene in the book, but it was more "interesting", than outright erotic.

Bryan is a Navajo woodworker who is carving pillars in a mansion into the likenesses of the owner's four female sex slaves. While working, Bryan gets to meet the girls in the flesh. The first girl he meets, Butterfly, captures his interest and ardeur. The girls all offer their services, but Bryan politely turns them down. Choosing instead to engage Butterfly as a person, chatting with her, doing his best to make her smile. Eventually convincing himself he has to help her escape.

For all the coldness Gary shows towards the slaves, he is more shocked that Butterfly is willing to walk away than he is aggressive in forcing her to stay. It almost seemed like he would let her walk out of the door on her own, without Bryan's assistance. It was only the psychological ties and games that kept her from leaving. After all, she (and the other three girls) all chose this and signed contracts.

Then the second half of the book, Bryan's desire to slowly re-introduce Butterfly (now Silvia) into society is thrown in disarray when he must return home to the reservation (in Arizona) to say goodbye to his dying grandfather. So the second half feels more like a culture crash romance than a BDSM one.

Rating fairly highly mostly for Bryan and Silvia, okay, mostly Bryan.

[Spynonu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because I wanted a sweet read. Often BDSM leaves me feeling like I have just read a book torture instead of something SSC (safe, sane and consensual) and I wanted a story with some love.

My major problems with this story were that Butterfly- who was the most down trodden or obedient of Gary's harem - was so easily converted back to a life of freedom. She had been a 24/7 for five years, tortured, humiliated and unloved - yet, she finds her spine and her voice without any major set backs. Yes, she is working through the conflicts in her head but she never once falls to her knees or freaks out when Bryan is acting like an idiot. I don't think that her love for Bryan could override five years of mental conditioning and physical "abuse" in such a short time.

The actual torture that the book is based on was almost a side note. It was supposed to be punishment but Butterfly is able to converse "normally" with Gary while he is doing it. AND when being tortured by her master just seemed like a REALLY bad time for her to bring up she wanted to leave him.

That being said - I was looking for sweet - I got sweet. The sex scenes were "meh" but I enjoyed the overall story of healing. I would have preferred the epilogue carried us further into the future so that we could see how things turned out for all of them. As is, the story feels unfinished.

[Sofia Lazaridou · Rating 3 out of 5]

She breathed slowly, searching for words. "You've set me free, and I can't be caged again.

I don't know what I think of this book.It was sort of good.Bryan isn't already a dom and he learns how to be one during the book because of butterfly.He does that because he wants to provide her what she needs.
It tired me at one point and in my opinion the only reason to read the book is to spend your time and move on without giving the book a second thought.Thought it had some beautiful quotes.

Quotes:

She climbed into his embrace. Bryan stayed awake until he heard her breathing steadily."When you find your wings, don't fly away,"he whispered.


As a child, he'd found a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. He'd tried to help it by prying open the husk to set the insect free. It had lain in the sun, beating its wings as they dried, but had never flown and soon died. His grandmother explained the butterfly needed to go through the difficulty of freeing itself in order to have the strength to fly.

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonnie Dee's books intrique me and couldn't resist giving this a try. The first half had me turning pages and holding my breath. I wouldn't say suspenseful, but on the edge of what could happen might be a better way to describe how I was feeling. It was almost painful to hear/feel what was going on, so dark, thankfully without too many details. The secondhalf almost had me believing I was reading a different book. The pacing and feeling changed. I almost missed the angst. Overall a good read, just wanted more out of the ending. Anyone know if there was a second or continuation of the story?

[Yaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of love and self discovery. This was a book that captivated my mind from the first pages until the end. It has some BDSM scenes but it is mostly about a woman finding herself and discovering love.

I loved the fact that the book mentions how broad the BDSM lifestyle can be and that someone can always make it work for them and not be in the outs.

The main character "Butterfly" has been in stasis for 5 years, serving her master and basing her happiness on meeting his needs. Until things change and she realizes there might be more for her than slavery. It is a thought provoking story worth reading.

[Tami · Rating 1 out of 5]

In my opinion, there is a world of difference between BDSM and abuse, whether that abuse is physical, emotional/mental, or sexual. This book has a warning about extreme masochistic tortures and degradation, as well as the BDSM parts. It does not warn about the abusive parts.

I did not finish it, because the abuse was bad. Perhaps, at a different point in my life, I might be able to revisit this book. Right now, I cannot handle stories where Masters are emotionally and mentally abusive to their Subs.

[Helen Jessica Mays · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a solid read. I have enjoyed it. I liked the hero and the heroine. I had some problems. For example, butterfly told her master that she might leave him but he did not think that she would until the time she said the words in a crowd. He should have known that if she is strong enough to say it when she was pinned then she might actually do it. The hero and the heroine's lives became really boring after his rescue though. I was expecting a lot more hardship.

[Moriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really disturbing in a lot of ways and really sweet in a lot of other ways. It was well written. It was heartbreaking. Not sure I buy the (what felt like) rapid emotional healing. Explicit depiction of Master/slave relationship and not for the faint of heart. So, it’s a recommended read if you want to go there.

[A.R. Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected, but still good reading material. Different and engrossing.
I felt as if it was missing...something. The end left me wanting--with unanswered questions as well. A 3.5 rating rounded off to a solid 4.
I'd recommend this story to my reader friends that are looking for a different type of BDSM or just an engaging read.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful love story, depicting that changes we go through as people with the right person by our side. It brings out the perils of choosing a BDSM partner in our weaker, emotionally unstable moments.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading.

A sex slave Butterfly mets the man that sets her free Bryan. A Twist on the from find BDSM to be your thing to Freedom of sorts from BDSM.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars, it was okay, I skim read the second half of the book

[Lisa Wadsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book...good love story!

[Nancy Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and strange story. Provocative!!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the last 1/3 of the book a lot. Good read.

[Lynx · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 star for the feelings...
i don't like the ending

[Angela Dube · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome

Just enough raunchy sex to balance pure love. The book was great. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a taste of both.