After following her best friend, Loren, to DC, she finds herself working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sydney struggles to come in to her own in her job, her relationships, and her life goals in general. Loren appears to have it all and, in a conflict that will be familiar to many, Sydney is both happy for and jealous of her friend’s success. She is so caught up in that cycle of emotions that she is unable to recognise her friend’s life as a façade that will crush Sydney when it comes crashing down.
Author Dionne Peart crafts an entertaining albeit predictable story. The characters and scenes are well developed, and one sees Sydney maturing from that caterpillar up to the point where she breaks out of the cocoon and emerges as the butterfly referenced in the title. The book had a bit of Caribbean flavor since almost all of the main characters had Caribbean roots. Peart uses this quite effectively in the development of Sydney’s character and her actions.
The relationship between Sydney and Loren is at the core of the book and Peart does a good job of establishing this from the very beginning. On the first page Sydney says of Loren, “She had that radiant kind of inner beauty that made it hard to dislike her despite all that God had blessed her with instead of you.
While the relationship is believable on some levels, Loren’s deceitfulness was very transparent and it was difficult to believe that Sydney, an experienced lawyer, head of a Division that dealt with money laundering cases, was so blind to the realities of Loren’s business dealings. The way in which Sydney’s legal situation was resolved was unremarkable (any more detail will spoil the book) but also required a relinquishing of disbelief which I found impossible to concede.
Overall, a well-written book with much to enjoy.